Where is the help button in MSWord 2007?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100221223359AArLb9M

Notes on Open Space, Adaptive Technologies and Libraries

Open Space Technology - Interview with Harrison Owen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDi0GLTO9ao&feature=related


Sit in a Circle -
Create a Bulletin Board –what they want to talk about
Open a Market Place – figure out where and when they wanted to meet
Go to work

At a conference people get the most out of the coffee breaks

OST is agenda set by people who show up

Organization development (OD) is a planned, organization-wide effort to increase an organization's effectiveness and viability. Warren Bennis, has referred to OD as a response to change, a complex educational strategy intended to change the beliefs, attitudes, values, and structure of organization so that they can better adapt to new technologies, marketing and challenges, and the dizzying rate of change itself. OD is neither "anything done to better an organization" nor is it "the training function of the organization"; it is a particular kind of change process designed to bring about a particular kind of end result. OD can involve interventions in the organization's "processes," using behavioural science knowledge[1] as well as organizational reflection, system improvement, planning, and self-analysis.
Kurt Lewin (1898–1947) is widely recognized as the founding father of OD, although he died before the concept became current in the mid-1950s. From Lewin came the ideas of group dynamics, and action research which underpin the basic OD process as well as providing its collaborative consultant/client ethos. Institutionally, Lewin founded the "Research Center for Group Dynamics" at MIT,
Group dynamics is the study of groups, and also a general term for group processes. Relevant to the fields of psychology, sociology, and communication studies, a group is two or more individuals who are connected to each other by social relationships.[1] Because they interact and influence each other, groups develop a number of dynamic processes that separate them from a random collection of individuals. These processes include norms, roles, relations, development, need to belong, social influence, and effects on behavior. The field of group dynamics is primarily concerned with small group behavior. Groups may be classified as aggregate, primary, secondary and category groups.
In organizational development (OD), or group dynamics, the phrase "group process" refers to the understanding of the behaviour of people in groups, such as task groups, that are trying to solve a problem or make a decision. An individual with expertise in 'group process, such as a trained facilitator, can assist a group in accomplishing its objective by diagnosing how well the group is functioning as a problem-solving or decision-making entity and intervening to alter the group's operating behaviour.
Because people gather in groups for reasons other than task accomplishment, group process occurs in other types of groups such as personal growth groups (e.g. encounter groups, study groups, prayer groups). In such cases, an individual with expertise in group process can be helpful in the role of facilitator.
Well researched but rarely mentioned by professional group workers, is the social status of people within the group (i.e., senior or junior). The group leader (or facilitator) will usually have a strong influence on the group due to his or her role of shaping the group's outcomes. This influence will also be affected by the leader's sex, race, relative age, income, appearance, and personality, as well as organizational structures and many other factors.
Gabriel Tarde's Les lois de l'imitation (1890) (translated as the Law of Imitiation—1903) conceives sociology as based on small psychological interactions among individuals (as in a chemical compound), the fundamental forces being imitation and innovation.
Gustave Le Bon was a French social psychologist whose seminal study, The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind (1896) led to the development of group psychology.
Sigmund Freud's Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego, (1922) based on a critique of Le Bon's work, led to further development in theories of group behavior in the latter half of the twentieth century.
Kurt Lewin (1943, 1948, 1951) is commonly identified as the founder of the movement to study groups scientifically. He coined the term group dynamics to describe the way groups and individuals act and react to changing circumstances.
William Schutz (1958, 1966) looked at interpersonal relations from the perspective of three dimensions: inclusion, control, and affection. This became the basis for a theory of group behavior that sees groups as resolving issues in each of these stages in order to be able to develop to the next stage. Conversely, a group may also devolve to an earlier stage if unable to resolve outstanding issues in a particular stage.
Wilfred Bion (1961) studied group dynamics from a psychoanalytic perspective, and stated that he was much influenced by Wilfred Trotter for whom he worked at University College Hospital London, as did another key figure in the Psychoanalytic movement, Ernest Jones. He discovered several mass group processes which involved the group as a whole adopting an orientation which, in his opinion, interfered with the ability of a group to accomplish the work it was nominally engaged in.[2] His experiences are reported in his published books, especially Experiences in Groups. The Tavistock Institute has further developed and applied the theory and practices developed by Bion.
Bruce Tuckman (1965) proposed the four-stage model called Tuckman's Stages for a group. Tuckman's model states that the ideal group decision-making process should occur in four stages:
• Forming (pretending to get on or get along with others);
• Storming (letting down the politeness barrier and trying to get down to the issues even if tempers flare up );
• Norming (getting used to each other and developing trust and productivity);
• Performing (working in a group to a common goal on a highly efficient and cooperative basis).
Tuckman later added a fifth stage for the dissolution of a group called adjourning. (Adjourning may also be referred to as mourning, i.e. mourning the adjournment of the group). It should be noted that this model refers to the overall pattern of the group, but of course individuals within a group work in different ways. If distrust persists, a group may never even get to the norming stage.
M. Scott Peck developed stages for larger-scale groups (i.e., communities) which are similar to Tuckman's stages of group development.[3] Peck describes the stages of a community as:
• Pseudo-community
• Chaos
• Emptiness
• True Community
Communities may be distinguished from other types of groups, in Peck's view, by the need for members to eliminate barriers to communication in order to be able to form true community. Examples of common barriers are: expectations and preconceptions; prejudices; ideology, counterproductive norms, theology and solutions; the need to heal, convert, fix or solve and the need to control. A community is born when its members reach a stage of "emptiness" or peace.
Group-dynamic games are experiential education exercises which help people to learn about themselves, interpersonal relationships, and how groups function from a group dynamics or social psychological point of view.
Group dynamics can be understood as complex from an interpersonal relationships point of view because it involves:
• relationships between two people
• relationships between a person and a group
• relationships between groups
Group-dynamic games are usually designed for the specific purpose of furthering personal development, character building, and teamwork via a Group-dynamic milieu. The group leader may sometimes also be the game leader, or between peers, the leadership and game-rules can change.
Some games require large spaces, special objects and tools, quietness or many before-game and after-game needs. When aged, frail or disabled people ("special needs") are involved, existing games may need modification to be used.
The use of group dynamic activities has a history of application in conflict resolution, anger management and team building and many other areas such as drug rehabilitation and drama therapy.
Types of group-dynamic games
• punking (some types)
• Dramaturgy (sociology)
• Group problem solving activities (or initiative tasks)
• Ice-breaker games
• Large group games
• Psycho-drama
• Role-playing games
• Team building games
• Trust-building games
• Win-win games (= 'cooperative games', 'new games')
Group psychotherapy or group therapy is a form of psychotherapy in which one or more therapists treat a small group of clients together as a group. The term can legitimately refer to any form of psychotherapy when delivered in a group format, including Cognitive behavioural therapy or Interpersonal therapy, but it is usually applied to psychodynamic group therapy where the group context and group process is explicitly utilised as a mechanism of change by developing, exploring and examining interpersonal relationships within the group. The broader concept of group therapy can be taken to include any helping process that takes place in a group, including support groups, skills training groups (such as anger management, mindfulness, relaxation training or social skills training), and psycho-education groups. The differences between psychodynamic groups, activity groups, support groups, problem-solving and psycoeducational groups are discussed by Montgomery (2002).[1]. Other, more specialised forms of group therapy would include non-verbal expressive therapies such as dance therapy, music therapy or the TaKeTiNa Rhythm Process.
Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) is a time-limited psychotherapy that focuses on the interpersonal context and on building interpersonal skills. IPT is based on the belief that interpersonal factors may contribute heavily to psychological problems. It is commonly distinguished from other forms of therapy in its emphasis on the interpersonal rather than the intrapsychic. IPT aims to change the person's interpersonal behavior by fostering adaptation to current interpersonal roles and situations.

Action research is a reflective process of progressive problem solving led by individuals working with others in teams or as part of a "community of practice" to improve the way they address issues and solve problems.

Knowledge management (KM) comprises a range of strategies and practices used in an organization to identify, create, represent, distribute, and enable adoption of insights and experiences. Such insights and experiences comprise knowledge, either embodied in individuals or embedded in organizational processes or practice.
Introspection is the self-observation and reporting of conscious inner thoughts, desires and sensations. It is a conscious mental and usually purposive process relying on thinking, reasoning, and examining one's own thoughts, feelings, and, in more spiritual cases, one's soul. It can also be called contemplation of one's self, and is contrasted with extrospection, the observation of things external to one's self. Introspection may be used synonymously with self-reflection and used in a similar way.
Body language is a form of non-verbal communication, consisting of body pose, gestures, and eye movements. Humans send and interpret such signals subconsciously.
It is often said that human communication consists of 93% body language and paralinguistic cues, while only 7% of communication consists of words themselves [1] - however, Albert Mehrabian, the researcher whose 1960s work is the source of these statistics, has stated that this is a misunderstanding of the findings [2] (see Misinterpretation of Mehrabian's rule). Others assert that "Research has suggested that between 60 and 70 percent of all meaning is derived from nonverbal behavior."[3]
Body language may provide clues as to the attitude or state of mind of a person. For example, it may indicate aggression, attentiveness, boredom, relaxed state, pleasure, amusement, besides many other cues.
Understanding body language
The technique of 'reading' people is used frequently. For example, the idea of mirroring body language to put people at ease is commonly used in interviews. Mirroring the body language of someone else indicates that they are understood.
Body language signals may have a goal other than communication. Both people would keep this in mind. Observers limit the weight they place on non-verbal cues. Signalers clarify their signals to indicate the biological origin of their actions.
Physical Expression
Physical expressions like waving, pointing, touching and slouching are all forms of nonverbal communication. The study of body movement and expression is known as kinesics. Humans move their bodies when communicating because, as research has shown[citation needed], it helps "ease the mental effort when communication is difficult." Physical expressions reveal many things about the person using them. For example, gestures can emphasize a point or relay a message, posture can reveal boredom or great interest, and touch can convey encouragement or caution.[4]
• One of the most basic and powerful body-language signals is when a person crosses his or her arms across the chest. This can indicate that a person is putting up an unconscious barrier between themselves and others. It can also indicate that the person's arms are cold which would be clarified by rubbing the arms or huddling. When the overall situation is amicable, it can mean that a person is thinking deeply about what is being discussed. But in a serious or confrontational situation, it can mean that a person is expressing opposition. This is especially so if the person is leaning away from the speaker. A harsh or blank facial expression often indicates outright hostility.
• Consistent eye contact can indicate that a person is thinking positively of what the speaker is saying. It can also mean that the other person doesn't trust the speaker enough to "take his eyes off" the speaker. Lack of eye contact can indicate negativity. On the other hand, individuals with anxiety disorders are often unable to make eye contact without discomfort. Eye contact is often a secondary and misleading gesture because we are taught from an early age to make eye contact when speaking. If a person is looking at you but is making the arms-across-chest signal, the eye contact could be indicative that something is bothering the person, and that he wants to talk about it. Or if while making direct eye contact a person is fiddling with something, even while directly looking at you, it could indicate the attention is elsewhere. Also there are three standard areas that a person will look which represent different states of being. If the person looks from one eye to the other then to the forehead it is a sign that they are taking an authoritative position. If they move from one eye to the other then to the nose, that signals that they are engaging in what they consider to be a "level conversation" with neither party holding superiority. The last case is from one eye to the other and then down to the lips. This is a strong indication of romantic feelings.
• Disbelief is often indicated by averted gaze, or by touching the ear or scratching the chin. When a person is not being convinced by what someone is saying, the attention invariably wanders, and the eyes will stare away for an extended period.[5]
• Boredom is indicated by the head tilting to one side, or by the eyes looking straight at the speaker but becoming slightly unfocused. A head tilt may also indicate a sore neck or Amblyopia, and unfocused eyes may indicate ocular problems in the listener.
• Interest can be indicated through posture or extended eye contact, such as standing and listening properly.
• Deceit or the act of withholding information can sometimes be indicated by touching the face during conversation. Excessive blinking is a well-known indicator of someone who is lying. Recently, evidence has surfaced that the absence of blinking can also represent lying as a more reliable factor than excessive blinking. [1]
It should be noted that some people (e.g., people with certain disabilities, or those on the autistic spectrum) use and understand body language differently, or not at all. Interpreting their gestures and facial expressions (or lack thereof) in the context of normal body language usually leads to misunderstandings and misinterpretations (especially if body language is given priority over spoken language). It should also be stated that people from different cultures can interpret body language in different ways.
Examples list
• Hands on knees: indicates readiness.[6]
• Hands on hips: indicates impatience or possiblly the person is angry
• Lock your hands behind your back: indicates self-control.[6]
• Locked hands behind head: states confidence.[6]
• Sitting with a leg over the arm of the chair: suggests indifference.[6]
• Legs and feet pointed in a particular direction: the direction where more interest is felt[6]
• Crossed arms: indicates submissiveness.[7]
Body language is a form of non-verbal communication involving the use of stylized gestures, postures, and physiologic signs which act as cues to other people. Humans, sometimes unconsciously, send and receive non-verbal signals all the time.
How prevalent is non-verbal communication in humans?
Some researchers put the level of nonverbal communication as high as 80 percent of all communication when it could be at around 50-65 percent. Different studies have found differing amounts, with some studies showing that facial communication is believed 4.3 times more often than verbal meaning, and another finding that verbal communication in a flat tone is 4 times more likely to be understood than a pure facial expression. Albert Mehrabian is noted for finding a 7%-38%-55% rule, supposedly denoting how much communication was conferred by words, tone, and body language. However he was only referring to cases of expressing feelings or attitudes.
Body language and space
Interpersonal space refers to the psychological "bubble" that we can imagine exists when someone is standing way too close to us. Research has revealed that there are four different zones of interpersonal space. The first zone is called intimate distance and ranges from touching to about eighteen inches (46 cm) apart. Intimate distance is the space around us that we reserve for lovers, children, as well as close family members and friends. The second zone is called personal distance and begins about an arm's length away; starting around eighteen inches (46 cm) from our person and ending about four feet (122 cm) away. We use personal distance in conversations with friends, to chat with associates, and in group discussions. The third zone of interpersonal space is called social distance and is the area that ranges from four to eight feet (1.2 m - 2.4 m) away from you. Social distance is reserved for strangers, newly formed groups, and new acquaintances. The fourth identified zone of space is public distance and includes anything more than eight feet (2.4 m) away from you. This zone is used for speeches, lectures, and theater; essentially, public distance is that range reserved for larger audiences.[8]
Unintentional gestures
Recently, there has been huge interest in studying human behavioral clues that could be useful for developing an interactive and adaptive human-machine system. Unintentional human gestures such as making an eye rub, a chin rest, a lip touch, a nose itch, a head scratch, an ear scratch, crossing arms, and a finger lock have been found conveying some useful information in specific context. Some researchers have tried to extract such gestures in a specific context of educational applications.[9]

Unconscious (or intuitive) communication is the transfer of information unconsciously between humans.
It is sometimes intrapersonal, like dreaming or cognition under the effects of hypnosis, and is not necessarily nonverbal communication.
Research has shown that our conscious attention can attend to 5-9 items simultaneously. All other information is processed by the unconscious mind. For example, the unconscious mind sometimes picks up on and relates nonverbal cues about an individual based on how he or she has arranged his or her settings such as his or her home or place of work.
Usually our unconscious communication and unconscious behaviour are influenced or dictated by our culture. Communication between people of different cultures and subcultures can sometimes cause unexpected suffering and conflicts. So, understanding of unconscious communication can avoid such conflicts.
Also, unconscious communication can cause changes in mood or emotion.
See also
• Rapport
• Ideomotor Effect
• Hypnosis
• Body Language
o Eye Contact
o Facial Expression
o Human Voice
o Gestures
o Postures
• Unconscious mind
Difficulty with eye contact
Some people find eye contact more difficult than others. For example, those with autistic disorders or social anxiety may find eye contact to be particularly unsettling.
LOOK ME IN THE EYE
Competitive: People who tend towards a competitive style take a firm stand, and know what they want. They usually operate from a position of power, drawn from things like position, rank, expertise, or persuasive ability. This style can be useful when there is an emergency and a decision needs to be make fast; when the decision is unpopular; or when defending against someone who is trying to exploit the situation selfishly. However it can leave people feeling bruised, unsatisfied and resentful when used in less urgent situations.
Collaborative: People tending towards a collaborative style try to meet the needs of all people involved. These people can be highly assertive but unlike the competitor, they cooperate effectively and acknowledge that everyone is important. This style is useful when a you need to bring together a variety of viewpoints to get the best solution; when there have been previous conflicts in the group; or when the situation is too important for a simple trade-off.
Compromising: People who prefer a compromising style try to find a solution that will at least partially satisfy everyone. Everyone is expected to give up something, and the compromiser him- or herself also expects to relinquish something. Compromise is useful when the cost of conflict is higher than the cost of losing ground, when equal strength opponents are at a standstill and when there is a deadline looming.

Accommodating: This style indicates a willingness to meet the needs of others at the expense of the person’s own needs. The accommodator often knows when to give in to others, but can be persuaded to surrender a position even when it is not warranted. This person is not assertive but is highly cooperative. Accommodation is appropriate when the issues matter more to the other party, when peace is more valuable than winning, or when you want to be in a position to collect on this “favor” you gave. However people may not return favors, and overall this approach is unlikely to give the best outcomes.

Avoiding: People tending towards this style seek to evade the conflict entirely. This style is typified by delegating controversial decisions, accepting default decisions, and not wanting to hurt anyone’s feelings. It can be appropriate when victory is impossible, when the controversy is trivial, or when someone else is in a better position to solve the problem. However in many situations this is a weak and ineffective approach to take.
Conflict transformation is the process by which conflicts, such as ethnic conflict, are transformed into peaceful outcomes. It differs from conflict resolution and conflict management approaches in that it recognises "that contemporary conflicts require more than the reframing of positions and the identification of win-win outcomes. The very structure of parties and relationships may be embedded in a pattern of conflictual relationships that extend beyond the particular site of conflict. Conflict transformation is therefore a process of engaging with and transforming the relationships, interests, discourses and, if necessary, the very constitution of society that supports the continuation of violent conflict".[1]
Conflict transformation approaches differ from those of conflict management or conflict resolution. Whereas conflict transformation involves transforming the relationships that support violence, conflict management approaches seek to merely manage and contain conflict, and conflict resolution approaches seek to move conflict parties away from zero-sum positions towards positive outcomes, often with the help of external actors.[1]
According to Search for Common Ground, one of the oldest organizations devoted to implementing conflict transformation programs, conflict transformation initiatives are often characterized by long time horizons and interventions at multiple levels, aimed at changing perceptions and improving communications skills addressing the roots of conflict, including inequality and social injustice.[2]
Conflict transformation theory is often associated with the academics and practitioners Johan Galtung and John Paul Lederach.
Mediation, a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) or "appropriate dispute resolution", aims to determine the conditions of any settlements reached — rather than accepting something imposed by a third party. The disputes may involve (as parties) states, organizations, communities, individuals or other representatives with a vested interest in the outcome.
Mediation, in a broad sense, consists of a cognitive process of reconciling mutually interdependent, opposed terms as what one could loosely call "an interpretation" or "an understanding of." The German philosopher Hegel uses the term "dialectical unity" to designate such thought-processes. This article discusses the legal communications usage of the term.
Mediators use appropriate techniques and/or skills to open and/or improve dialogue between disputants, aiming to help the parties reach an agreement (with concrete effects) on the disputed matter. Normally, all parties must view the mediator as impartial. Disputants may use mediation in a variety of disputes, such as commercial, legal, diplomatic, workplace, community and family matters. A third-party representative may contract and mediate between (say) unions and corporations. When a workers’ union goes on strike, a dispute takes place, and the corporation hires a third party to intervene in attempt to settle a contract or agreement between the union and the corporation.
Mediation is the only way assisted by one third, which promotes freedom of choice of protagonists in a conflict[1].
Interpersonal communication is usually defined by communication scholars in numerous ways, usually describing participants who are dependent upon one another and have a shared history. Communication channels, the conceptualization of mediums that carry messages from sender to receiver, take two distinct forms: direct and indirect.
Direct channels are obvious and easily recognized by the receiver. Both verbal and non-verbal information is completely controlled by the sender. Verbal channels rely on words, as in written or spoken communication. Non-verbal channels encompass facial expressions, controlled body movements (police present hand gestures to control traffic), color (red signals 'stop', green signals 'go'), and sound (warning sirens).
Indirect channels are usually recognized subconsciously by the receiver, and are not always under direct control of the sender. Body language, comprising most of the indirect channel, may inadvertently reveal one's true emotions, and thereby either unintentionally taint or bolster the believability of any intended verbal message. Subconscious reception and interpretation of these signals is often described with arbitrary terms like gut-feeling, hunch, or premonition.
Context refers to the conditions that precede or surround the communication. It consists of present or past events from which the meaning of the message is derived, though it may also, in the case of written communications, depend upon the statements preceding and following the quotation in question. Immediate surroundings may also color the perceived meaning of words; normally safe discourse may easily become contextually ambiguous or offensive in a restroom or shower hall. These influences do not constitute the message by themselves, but rather these extraneous nuances subtly change the message's effective meaning. Ultimately, context includes the entire world, but usually refers to salient factors such as the following:
Physical milieu: the season or weather, current physical location and environment
Situational milieu: classroom, military conflict, supermarket checkout
Cultural and linguistic backgrounds
Developmental progress (maturity) or emotional state
Complementary or contrasting roles: boss and employee; teacher and student; parent, child, and spouse; friend or enemy; partner or competitor
Intrapersonal communication is language use or thought internal to the communicator. Intrapersonal communication is the active internal involvement of the individual in symbolic processing of messages. Intrapersonal communication is the thought process or communication with one person or one's self. The individual becomes his or her own sender and receiver, providing feedback to him or herself in an ongoing internal process. It can be useful to envision intrapersonal communication occurring in the mind of the individual in a model which contains a sender, receiver, and feedback loop.
Although successful communication is generally defined as being between two or more individuals, issues concerning the useful nature of communicating with oneself and problems concerning communication with non-sentient entities such as computers have made some argue that this definition is too narrow.
In Communication: The Social Matrix of Psychiatry, Jurgen Ruesch and Gregory Bateson argue that intrapersonal communication is indeed a special case of interpersonal communication, as "dialogue is the foundation for all discourse."

Intrapersonal communication can encompass:
• Day-dreaming
• Nocturnal dreaming, including and especially lucid dreaming
• Speaking aloud (talking to oneself), reading aloud, repeating what one hears; the additional activities of speaking and hearing (in the third case of hearing again) what one thinks, reads or hears may increase concentration and retention. This is considered normal, and the extent to which it occurs varies from person to person. The time when there should be concern is when talking to oneself occurs outside of socially acceptable situations.[1]
• Internal monologue, the semi-constant internal monologue one has with oneself at a conscious or semi-conscious level.
• Writing (by hand, or with a wordprocessor, etc.) one's thoughts or observations: the additional activities, on top of thinking, of writing and reading back may again increase self-understanding ("How do I know what I mean until I see what I say?") and concentration. It aids ordering one's thoughts; in addition it produces a record that can be used later again. Copying text to aid memorizing also falls in this category.
• Making gestures while thinking: the additional activity, on top of thinking, of body motions, may again increase concentration, assist in problem solving, and assist memory.
• Sense-making (see Karl Weick) e.g. interpreting maps, texts, signs, and symbols
• Interpreting non-verbal communication (see Albert Mehrabian) e.g. gestures, eye contact
• Communication between body parts; e.g. "My stomach is telling me it's time for lunch."
However, in 1992, a chapter in Communication Yearbook #15, argued that "intrapersonal communication" is a flawed concept. The chapter first itemized the various definitions. Intrapersonal communication, it appears, arises from a series of logical and linguistic improprieties. The descriptor itself, 'intrapersonal communicaton' is ambiguous: many definitions appear to be circular since they borrow, apply and thereby distort conceptual features (e.g., sender, receiver, message, dialogue) drawn from normal inter-person communication; unknown entities or person-parts allegedly conduct the 'intrapersonal' exchange; in many cases, a very private language is posited which, upon analysis, turns out to be totally inaccessible and ultimately indefensible. In general, intrapersonal communication appears to arise from the tendency to interpret the inner mental processes that precede and accompany our communicative behaviors as if they too were yet another kind of communication process. The overall point is that this reconstruction of our inner mental processes in the language and idioms of everyday public conversation is highly questionable, wiktionary:tenuous at best.
Reference: Stanley B. Cunningham, "Intrapersonal Communication: A Review and Critique," Communication Yearbook #15 (1992), (Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications), pp. 597-620.
[edit] Intrapersonal communication in dreams
A particularly interesting example is that of a recently designed technique of 'interviewing' one's dream characters, particularly during lucid dreaming. In the lucid state, the dreamer is aware that he or she is dreaming, and can proceed to question, in-depth, each dream character, who is necessarily understood to be part of the 'self' in either a psychological sense or in the more scientific sense of each aspect of one's dream arising from one's own brain processes.
Open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials—typically, their source code.[1] Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology. Before the term open source became widely adopted, developers and producers used a variety of phrases to describe the concept; open source gained hold with the rise of the Internet, and the attendant need for massive retooling of the computing source code. Opening the source code enabled a self-enhancing diversity of production models, communication paths, and interactive communities. [2] Subsequently, a new, three-word phrase "open source software" was born to describe the environment that the new copyright, licensing, domain, and consumer issues created.
The open source model includes the concept of concurrent yet different agendas and differing approaches in production, in contrast with more centralized models of development such as those typically used in commercial software companies. [3] A main principle and practice of open source software development is peer production by bartering and collaboration, with the end-product (and source-material) available at no cost to the public. This is increasingly being applied in other fields of endeavor, such as biotechnology.[4]
Contents
[hide]
• 1 History
• 2 Markets
o 2.1 Agriculture
o 2.2 Content
o 2.3 Health and science
o 2.4 Technology
 2.4.1 Example
• 3 Society and culture
o 3.1 Government
o 3.2 Ethics
o 3.3 Media
o 3.4 Education
o 3.5 Innovation communities
o 3.6 Arts and recreation
• 4 See also
o 4.1 Lists
o 4.2 Terms based on open source
o 4.3 Other
• 5 References
• 6 Further reading
• 7 Literature on legal and economic aspects
• 8 External links

[edit] History
Main article: History of free and open source software
The concept of open source and free sharing of technological information has existed long before computers existed. There is open source pertaining to businesses and there is open source pertaining to computers, software, and technology. In the early years of automobile development, a group of capital monopolists owned the rights to a 2 cycle gasoline engine patent originally filed by George B. Selden.[5] By controlling this patent, they were able to monopolize the industry and force car manufacturers to adhere to their demands, or risk a lawsuit. In 1911, independent automaker Henry Ford won a challenge to the Selden patent. The result was that the Selden patent became virtually worthless and a new association (which would eventually become the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association) was formed.[5] The new association instituted a cross-licensing agreement among all US auto manufacturers: although each company would develop technology and file patents, these patents were shared openly and without the exchange of money between all the manufacturers.[5] Up to the point where the US entered World War II, 92 Ford patents were being used freely by other manufacturers and were in turn making use of 515 patents from other companies, all without lawsuits or the exchange of any money.[5]
Very similar to open standards, researchers with access to the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) used a process called Request for Comments to develop telecommunication network protocols. Characterized by contemporary open source work, this 1960s' collaborative process led to the birth of the Internet in 1969. There are earlier instances of open source and free software such as IBM's source releases of its operating systems and other programs in the 1950s, 60s, and the SHARE user group that formed to facilitate the exchange of software.[6][7] Open source on the internet began when the internet was just a message board and progressed to more advanced presentation and sharing forms like a website. There are now many websites, organizations, and businesses who promote open source sharing of everything from computer code to mechanics of improving a product, technique, or medical advancement.
The decision by some people in the free software movement to use the label “open source” came out of a strategy session[8] held at Palo Alto, California, in reaction to Netscape's January 1998 announcement of a source code release for Navigator. The group of individuals at the session included Christine Peterson who suggested “open source”, Todd Anderson, Larry Augustin, Jon Hall, Sam Ockman, Michael Tiemann and Eric S. Raymond. They used the opportunity before the release of Navigator's source code to free themselves of the ideological and confrontational connotations of the term free software. Netscape licensed and released its code as open source under the Netscape Public License and subsequently under the Mozilla Public License.[9]
The term was given a big boost at an event organized in April 1998 by technology publisher Tim O'Reilly. Originally titled the “Freeware Summit” and later known as the “Open Source Summit”,[10] the event brought together the leaders of many of the most important free and open source projects, including Linus Torvalds, Larry Wall, Brian Behlendorf, Eric Allman, Guido van Rossum, Michael Tiemann, Paul Vixie, Jamie Zawinski of Netscape, and Eric Raymond. At that meeting, the confusion caused by the name free software was brought up. Tiemann argued for “sourceware” as a new term, while Raymond argued for “open source.” The assembled developers took a vote, and the winner was announced at a press conference that evening. Five days later, Raymond made the first public call to the free software community to adopt the new term.[11] The Open Source Initiative was formed shortly thereafter.[8]
Starting in the early 2000's, a number of companies began to publish a portion of their source code to claim they were open source, while keeping key parts closed. This led to the development of the now widely used terms Free open source software and Commercial Open Source Software to distinguish between truly open and hybrid forms of open source.[original research?]
[edit] Markets
Software is not the only field affected by open source; many fields of study and social and political views have been affected by the growth of the concept of open source. Advocates in one field will often support the expansion of open source in other fields, including Linus Torvalds who is quoted as saying, "the future is open source everything."
Eric Raymond and other founders of the open source movement have sometimes publicly tried to put the brakes on speculation about applications outside of software, arguing that strong arguments for software openness should not be weakened by overreaching into areas where the story is less compelling. The broader impacts of the open source movement, and the extent of its role in the development of new information sharing procedures, remains to be seen.
The open source movement has been the inspiration for increased transparency and liberty in other fields, including the release of biotechnology research by CAMBIA, Wikipedia, and other projects. The open-source concept has also been applied to media other than computer programs, e.g., by Creative Commons. It also constitutes an example of user innovation (see for example the book Democratizing Innovation). Often, open source is an expression where it simply means that a system is available to all who wish to work on it. The difference between crowdsourcing and open source is that open source production is a cooperative activity initiated and voluntarily undertaken by members of the public
Most economists would agree that open source candidates have a public goods aspect to them. In general, this suggests that the original work involves a great deal of time, money, and effort. However, the cost of reproducing the work is very low so that additional users may be added at zero or near zero cost - this is referred to as the marginal cost of a product. At this point, it is necessary to consider a copyright. The idea of copyright for works of authorship is to protect the incentive of making these original works. Copyright restriction then creates access costs on consumers who value the original more than making an additional copy but value the original less than its price. Thus, they will pay an access cost of this difference. Access costs also pose problems for authors who wish to create something based on another work yet are not willing to pay the copyright holder for the rights to the copyrighted work. The second type of cost incurred with a copyright system is the cost of administration and enforcement of the copyright.
The idea of open source is then to eliminate the access costs of the consumer and the creator by reducing the restrictions of copyright. This will lead to creation of additional works, which build upon previous work and add to greater social benefit. Additionally, some proponents argue that open source also relieves society of the administration and enforcement costs of copyright. Organizations such as Creative Commons have websites where individuals can file for alternative "licenses", or levels of restriction, for their works. These self-made protections free the general society of the costs of policing copyright infringement. Thus, on several fronts, there is an efficiency argument to be made on behalf of open sourced goods.
Others argue that society loses through open sourced goods. Because there is a loss in monetary incentive to the creation of new goods, some argue that new products will not be created. This argument seems to apply particularly to the business model where extensive research and development is done, e.g. pharmaceuticals. However, others argue that visual art and other works of authorship should be free. These proponents of extensive open source ideals argue that there should be no monetary incentive for artists.
[edit] Agriculture
• Beverages
o OpenCola — An idea inspired by the open source movement. Soft drink giants like Coke and Pepsi hold their formulas as closely guarded secrets. Now volunteers have posted the recipe for a similar cola drink on the Internet. The taste is said to be comparable to that of the standard beverages.
o Beer — A beer recipe called Vores Øl. The beer was created by students at the IT-University in Copenhagen together with Superflex, a Copenhagen-based artist collective, to illustrate how open source concepts might be applied outside the digital world. The concept expands upon a statement found in the Free Software Definition: "Free software is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of 'free' as in 'free speech' not as in 'free beer.'"[12] Following its release, an article in Wired magazine commented that "as open source spreads beyond software to online encyclopedias like Wikipedia and biological research, it was only a matter of time before somebody created an open-source beer".[13]
o But before that In 2002 a beer company in Australia, Brewtopia, started an open source brewery which invited the general population to be involved in the development and ownership of the brewery, but asking them to vote on the development of every aspect of their beer, Blowfly, and its road to market. In return for their feedback and input, they received shares in the company, which is now publicly traded on one of the Stock Exchanges in Australia. The company has always adhered to its Open Source roots and is the only beer company in the world that allows the public to design, customise and develop their own beers online.
o Coffee - It has been pointed out[14] that capsule-based beverage systems such as Nestle's Nespresso or Krups' Tassimo turn home-brewed coffee from an inherently "open-source" beverage into a product limited by the specific range of capsules made available by the system manufacturers.
[edit] Content
• Open-content projects organized by the Wikimedia Foundation — Sites such as Wikipedia and Wiktionary have embraced the open-content GFDL and Creative Commons content licenses. These licenses were designed to adhere to principles similar to various open-source software development licenses. Many of these licenses ensure that content remains free for re-use, that source documents are made readily available to interested parties, and that changes to content are accepted easily back into the system. An important site embracing open source-like ideals is Project Gutenberg, which posts many books on which the copyright has expired and are thus in the Public Domain, ensuring that anyone can use that content for any purpose whatsoever.
• There are few examples of business information (methodologies, advice, guidance, practices) using the open source model, although this is another case where the potential is enormous. ITIL is close to open source. It uses the Cathedral model (no mechanism exists for user contribution) and the content must be bought for a fee that is small by business consulting standards (hundreds of British pounds). Various checklists are published by government, banks or accounting firms. Possibly the only example of free, bazaar-model open source business information is Core Practice.
[edit] Health and science
• Medicine
o Pharmaceuticals — There have been several proposals for open-source pharmaceutical development,[15][16] which led to the establishment of the Tropical Disease Initiative. There are also a number of not-for-profit "virtual pharmas" such as the Institute for One World Health and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative.
• Science
o Research — The Science Commons was created as an alternative to the expensive legal costs of sharing and reusing scientific works in journals etc.
o Research — The Open Source Science Project was created to increase the ability for students to participate in the research process by providing them access to microfunding - which, in turn, offers non-researchers the opportunity to directly invest, and follow, cutting-edge scientific research. All data and methodology is subsequently published in an openly-accessible manner under a Creative Commons fair use license.
[edit] Technology


MediaWiki logo
• Computer software
o Open source software — software whose source code is published and made available to the public, enabling anyone to copy, modify and redistribute the source code without paying royalties or fees. Open source code evolves through community cooperation. These communities are composed of individual programmers as well as very large companies. Examples of open-source software products are:
 Apache - HTTP web server
 Drupal — content management system
 Eclipse - software framework for "rich-client applications"
 FreeBSD - operating system derived from Unix
 IPPOLIT — chess engine series, considered to be one of the strongest chess programs of the world
 Joomla — content management system
 Linux - operating system based on Unix
 Mediawiki — wiki server software, the software that runs Wikipedia
 MongoDB - document-oriented, non-relational database
 Moodle - course management system
 Mozilla Firefox - web browser
 Mozilla Thunderbird - e-mail client
 OpenOffice.org — office suite
 OpenSolaris - Unix Operating System from Sun Microsystems
 Symbian - real time operating system
 Tomcat web server - web container
• Computer hardware
o Open source hardware — hardware whose initial specification, usually in a software format, are published and made available to the public, enabling anyone to copy, modify and redistribute the hardware and source code without paying royalties or fees. Open source hardware evolves through community cooperation. These communities are composed of individual hardware/software developers, hobbyists, as well as very large companies. Examples of open source hardware initiatives are:
 Sun Microsystems's OpenSPARC T1 Multicore processor. Sun has released it under GPL.
 Arduino, a microcontroller platform for hobbyists, artists and designers.
• Open design — which involves applying open source methodologies to the design of artifacts and systems in the physical world. Very nascent but has huge potential.
• Teaching - which involves applying the concepts of open source to instruction using a shared web space as a platform to improve upon learning, organizational, and management challenges. An example of an Open Source Courseware is the Java Education & Development Initiative (JEDI).
Open source principles can also be applied to technical areas other than computer software, such as digital communication protocols and data storage formats (for instance the Indian development simputer).
[edit] Example
An investigation of open source industrial symbiosis is performed by Doyle and Pearce [1] using Google Earth (GE). This paper found that virtual globes coupled with open source waste information can be used to:
1. reduce embodied transport energy by reducing distances to recycling facilities,
2. choose end of life at recycling facilities rather than landfills, and
3. establish industrial symbiosis and eco-industrial parks on known by-product synergies.
Ultimately, open source sharing of information in virtual globes provide a means to identify economically and environmentally beneficial opportunities for waste management if the data have been made available.
[edit] Society and culture


Conceptual map of FOSS (Free and Open Source Software)
Open source culture is the creative practice of appropriation and free sharing of found and created content. Examples include collage, found footage film, music, and appropriation art. Open source culture is one in which fixations, works entitled to copyright protection, are made generally available. Participants in the culture can modify those products and redistribute them back into the community or other organizations.
The rise of open-source culture in the 20th century resulted from a growing tension between creative practices that involve appropriation, and therefore require access to content that is often copyrighted, and increasingly restrictive intellectual property laws and policies governing access to copyrighted content. The two main ways in which intellectual property laws became more restrictive in the 20th century were extensions to the term of copyright (particularly in the United States) and penalties, such as those articulated in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), placed on attempts to circumvent anti-piracy technologies.
Although artistic appropriation is often permitted under fair use doctrines, the complexity and ambiguity of these doctrines creates an atmosphere of uncertainty among cultural practitioners. Also, the protective actions of copyright owners create what some call a "chilling effect" among cultural practitioners.
In the late 20th century, cultural practitioners began to adopt the intellectual property licensing techniques of free software and open-source software to make their work more freely available to others, including the Creative Commons.
The idea of an "open source" culture runs parallel to "Free Culture," but is substantively different. Free culture is a term derived from the free software movement, and in contrast to that vision of culture, proponents of Open Source Culture (OSC) maintain that some intellectual property law needs to exist to protect cultural producers. Yet they propose a more nuanced position than corporations have traditionally sought. Instead of seeing intellectual property law as an expression of instrumental rules intended to uphold either natural rights or desirable outcomes, an argument for OSC takes into account diverse goods (as in "the Good life") and ends.
One way of achieving the goal of making the fixations of cultural work generally available is to maximally utilize technology and digital media. In keeping with Moore's law's prediction about processors, the cost of digital media and storage plummeted in the late 20th Century. Consequently, the marginal cost of digitally duplicating anything capable of being transmitted via digital media dropped to near zero. Combined with an explosive growth in personal computer and technology ownership, the result is an increase in general population's access to digital media. This phenomenon facilitated growth in open source culture because it allowed for rapid and inexpensive duplication and distribution of culture. Where the access to the majority of culture produced prior to the advent of digital media was limited by other constraints of proprietary and potentially "open" mediums, digital media is the latest technology with the potential to increase access to cultural products. Artists and users who choose to distribute their work digitally face none of the physical limitations that traditional cultural producers have been typically faced with. Accordingly, the audience of an open source culture faces little physical cost in acquiring digital media.
Open source culture precedes Richard Stallman's codification of the concept with the creation of the Free Software Foundation. As the public began to communicate through Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) like FidoNet, places like Sourcery Systems BBS were dedicated to providing source code to Public Domain, Shareware and Freeware programs.
Essentially born out of a desire for increased general access to digital media, the Internet is open source culture's most valuable asset. It is questionable whether the goals of an open source culture could be achieved without the Internet. The global network not only fosters an environment where culture can be generally accessible, but also allows for easy and inexpensive redistribution of culture back into various communities. Some reasons for this are as follows.
First, the Internet allows even greater access to inexpensive digital media and storage. Instead of users being limited to their own facilities and resources, they are granted access to a vast network of facilities and resources, some free. Sites such as Archive.org offer up free web space for anyone willing to license their work under a Creative Commons license. The resulting cultural product is then available to download free (generally accessible) to anyone with an Internet connection.
Second, users are granted unprecedented access to each other. Older analog technologies such as the telephone or television have limitations on the kind of interaction users can have. In the case of television there is little, if any interaction between users participating on the network. And in the case of the telephone, users rarely interact with any more than a couple of their known peers. On the Internet, however, users have the potential to access and meet millions of their peers. This aspect of the Internet facilitates the modification of culture as users are able to collaborate and communicate with each other across international and cultural boundaries. The speed in which digital media travels on the Internet in turn facilitates the redistribution of culture.
Through various technologies such as peer-to-peer networks and blogs, cultural producers can take advantage of vast social networks in order to distribute their products. As opposed to traditional media distribution, redistributing digital media on the Internet can be virtually costless. Technologies such as BitTorrent and Gnutella take advantage of various characteristics of the Internet protocol (TCP/IP) in an attempt to totally decentralize file distribution.
[edit] Government
• Open politics (sometimes known as Open source politics) — is a term used to describe a political process that uses Internet technologies such as blogs, email and polling to provide for a rapid feedback mechanism between political organizations and their supporters. There is also an alternative conception of the term Open source politics which relates to the development of public policy under a set of rules and processes similar to the Open Source Software movement.
• Open source governance — is similar to open source politics, but it applies more to the democratic process and promotes the freedom of information.
[edit] Ethics
Open Source ethics is split into two strands:
• Open Source Ethics as an Ethical School - Charles Ess and David Berry are researching whether ethics can learn anything from an open source approach. Ess famously even defined the AoIR Research Guidelines as an example of open source ethics.[17]
• Open Source Ethics as a Professional Body of Rules - This is based principally on the computer ethics school, studying the questions of ethics and professionalism in the computer industry in general and software development in particular.[18]
[edit] Media
Open source journalism — referred to the standard journalistic techniques of news gathering and fact checking, and reflected a similar term that was in use from 1992 in military intelligence circles, open source intelligence. It is now commonly used to describe forms of innovative publishing of online journalism, rather than the sourcing of news stories by a professional journalist. In the December 25, 2006 issue of TIME magazine this is referred to as user created content and listed alongside more traditional open source projects such as OpenSolaris and Linux.
Weblogs, or blogs, are another significant platform for open source culture. Blogs consist of periodic, reverse chronologically ordered posts, using a technology that makes webpages easily updatable with no understanding of design, code, or file transfer required. While corporations, political campaigns and other formal institutions have begun using these tools to distribute information, many blogs are used by individuals for personal expression, political organizing, and socializing. Some, such as LiveJournal or WordPress, utilize open source software that is open to the public and can be modified by users to fit their own tastes. Whether the code is open or not, this format represents a nimble tool for people to borrow and re-present culture; whereas traditional websites made the illegal reproduction of culture difficult to regulate, the mutability of blogs makes "open sourcing" even more uncontrollable since it allows a larger portion of the population to replicate material more quickly in the public sphere.
Messageboards are another platform for open source culture. Messageboards (also known as discussion boards or forums), are places online where people with similar interests can congregate and post messages for the community to read and respond to. Messageboards sometimes have moderators who enforce community standards of etiquette such as banning users who are spammers. Other common board features are private messages (where users can send messages to one another) as well as chat (a way to have a real time conversation online) and image uploading. Some messageboards use phpBB, which is a free open source package. Where blogs are more about individual expression and tend to revolve around their authors, messageboards are about creating a conversation amongst its users where information can be shared freely and quickly. Messageboards are a way to remove intermediaries from everyday life - for instance, instead of relying on commercials and other forms of advertising, one can ask other users for frank reviews of a product, movie or CD. By removing the cultural middlemen, messageboards help speed the flow of information and exchange of ideas.
OpenDocument is an open document file format for saving and exchanging editable office documents such as text documents (including memos, reports, and books), spreadsheets, charts, and presentations. Organizations and individuals that store their data in an open format such as OpenDocument avoid being locked in to a single software vendor, leaving them free to switch software if their current vendor goes out of business, raises their prices, changes their software, or changes their licensing terms to something less favorable.
Open source movie production is either an open call system in which a changing crew and cast collaborate in movie production, a system in which the end result is made available for re-use by others or in which exclusively open source products are used in the production. The 2006 movie Elephants Dream is said to be the "world's first open movie",[19] created entirely using open source technology.
An open source documentary film has a production process allowing the open contributions of archival material, footage, and other filmic elements, both in unedited and edited form. By doing so, on-line contributors become part of the process of creating the film, helping to influence the editorial and visual material to be used in the documentary, as well as its thematic development. The first open source documentary film to go into production "The American Revolution" [20]," which will examine the role that WBCN-FM in Boston played in the cultural, social and political changes locally and nationally from 1968 to 1974, is being produced by Lichtenstein Creative Media and the non-profit The Fund for Independent Media. Open Source Cinema is a website to create Basement Tapes, a feature documentary about copyright in the digital age, co-produced by the National Film Board of Canada. Open Source Filmmaking refers to a form of filmmaking that takes a method of idea formation from open source software, but in this case the 'source' for a film maker is raw unedited footage rather than programming code. It can also refer to a method of filmmaking where the process of creation is 'open' i.e. a disparate group of contributors, at different times contribute to the final piece.
Open-IPTV is IPTV that is not limited to one recording studio, production studio, or cast. Open-IPTV uses the Internet or other means to pool efforts and resources together to create an online community that all contributes to a show.
[edit] Education
Within the academic community, there is discussion about expanding what could be called the "intellectual commons" (analogous to the Creative Commons). Proponents of this view have hailed the Connexions Project at Rice University, OpenCourseWare project at MIT, Eugene Thacker's article on "Open Source DNA", the "Open Source Cultural Database" and Wikipedia as examples of applying open source outside the realm of computer software.
Open source curricula are instructional resources whose digital source can be freely used, distributed and modified.
Another strand to the academic community is in the area of research. Many funded research projects produce software as part of their work. There is an increasing interest in making the outputs of such projects available under an open source license. In the UK the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) has developed a policy on open source software. JISC also funds a development service called OSS Watch which acts as an advisory service for higher and further education institutions wishing to use, contribute to and develop open source software.
[edit] Innovation communities
The principle of sharing predates the open source movement; for example, the free sharing of information has been institutionalized in the scientific enterprise since at least the 19th century. Open source principles have always been part of the scientific community. The sociologist Robert K. Merton described the four basic elements of the community - universalism (an international perspective), communism (sharing information), disinterestedness (removing one's personal views from the scientific inquiry) and organized skepticism (requirements of proof and review) that accurately describe the scientific community today. These principles are, in part, complemented by US law's focus on protecting expression and method but not the ideas themselves. There is also a tradition of publishing research results to the scientific community instead of keeping all such knowledge proprietary. One of the recent initiatives in scientific publishing has been open access - the idea that research should be published in such a way that it is free and available to the public. There are currently many open access journals where the information is available free online, however most journals do charge a fee (either to users or libraries for access). The Budapest Open Access Initiative is an international effort with the goal of making all research articles available free on the Internet. The National Institutes of Health has recently proposed a policy on "Enhanced Public Access to NIH Research Information." This policy would provide a free, searchable resource of NIH-funded results to the public and with other international repositories six months after its initial publication. The NIH's move is an important one because there is significant amount of public funding in scientific research. Many of the questions have yet to be answered - the balancing of profit vs. public access, and ensuring that desirable standards and incentives do not diminish with a shift to open access.
Farmavita.Net - Community of Pharmaceuticals Executives have recently proposed new business model of Open Source Pharmaceuticals [21]. The project is targeted to development and sharing of know-how for manufacture of essential and life saving medicines. It is mainly dedicated to the countries with less developed economies where local pharmaceutical research and development resources are insufficient for national needs. It will be limited to generic (off-patent) medicines with established use. By the definition, medicinal product have a “well-established use” if is used for at least 15 years, with recognized efficacy and an acceptable level of safety. In that event, the expensive clinical test and trial results could be replaced by appropriate scientific literature.
Benjamin Franklin was an early contributor eventually donating all his inventions including the Franklin stove, bifocals and the lightning rod to the public domain.
New NGO communities are starting to use the open source technology as a tool. One example is the Open Source Youth Network started in 2007 in Lisboa by ISCA members[22].
Open innovation is also a new emerging concept which advocate putting R&D in a common pool. The Eclipse platform is openly presenting itself as an Open innovation network [23].
[edit] Arts and recreation
Copyright protection is used in the performing arts and even in athletic activities. Some groups have attempted to remove copyright from such practices.[24]

BarCamp is an international network of user generated conferences (or unconferences) - open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants. The first BarCamps focused on early-stage web applications, and related open source technologies, social protocols, and open data formats. The format has also been used for a variety of other topics, including public transit, health care, and political organizing.
History
The name "BarCamp" is a playful allusion to the event's origins, with reference to the hacker slang term, foobar: BarCamp arose as a spin-off of Foo Camp, an annual invitation-only participant driven conference hosted by open source publishing luminary Tim O'Reilly.
The first BarCamp was held in Palo Alto, California, from August 19-21, 2005, in the offices of Socialtext. It was organized in less than one week, from concept to event, with 200 attendees. Since then, BarCamps have been held in over 350 cities around the world, in North America, South America, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Australasia and Asia. To mark the one-year anniversary of BarCamp, BarCampEarth was held in multiple locations world wide on August 25-27, 2006. The second-year anniversary of BarCamp, BarCampBlock was held in Palo Alto at the original location, but also over a three block radius on August 18-19, 2007, and was attended by over 800 people. [1]
Influence
BarCamp "open sources" their organizational process, codifying it in a publicly available wiki. In addition to the BarCamp-branded network, it is also a model for user-generated conferences in other fields or for more specialized applications such as WordCamp and PodCamp to Seattle Mind Camp and THATcamp. The real estate industry has become a popular adopter of the Barcamp format with over 30 "RE Barcamps" completed and scheduled throughout the U.S. with plans also underway to take the format internationally. REBarCamp.
Structure and participatory process
BarCamps are organized and evangelized largely through the web, harnessing what might be called a Web 2.0 communications toolkit. Anyone can initiate a BarCamp, using the BarCamp wiki.
The procedural framework consists of sessions proposed and scheduled each day by attendees, mostly on-site, typically using white boards or paper taped to the wall. This approach and has been dubbed to play on words, The Open Grid approach.
FooCamps and BarCamps are based on simplified variations of Open Space Technology (OST), relying on the self-organizing character of OST. Other than in classical conference formats, BarCamps and OST rely on the passion and the responsibility of the participants, putting them into the driver's seat.
While loosely structured, there are rules at BarCamp. All attendees are encouraged to present or facilitate a session. Everyone is also asked to share information and experiences of the event, both live and after the fact, via public web channels including (but not limited to) blogging, photo sharing, social bookmarking, twittering, wiki-ing, and IRC. This open encouragement to share everything about the event is in deliberate contrast to the "off the record by default" and "no recordings" rules at many private invite-only participant driven conferences.
Hosting and attending
Venues typically provide basic services. Free network access, usually WiFi, is crucial. Following the model of Foo Camp, the venue also makes space for the attendees, a.k.a. BarCampers, to literally camp out overnight. Thus, BarCamps rely on securing sponsorship, ranging from the venue and network access to beverages and food.
Attendance is typically monetarily free and generally restricted only by space constraints. Participants are typically encouraged to sign up in advance.
Historical precedents
This form of self-organized user generated conferences are conceptually related to hackers' meetings in Europe, especially those nearer to anarchism and autonomism, happening since the '90s in Temporary Autonomous Zones or other occupied places. Most BarCamps use the agenda wall technique from Open Space methodology. Some, like RecentChangesCamp, BEAST (east bay Bloggers) Camp, HealthCamp and others, use the whole of the Open Space methodology.
The BoF sessions of IETF meetings may have provided inspiration. However, BarCamps lack the political motivations and are actually quite integrated with the mainstream ICT industry, often getting substantial sponsorships from major corporations.
Ignite is a style of presentation where participants are given five minutes to speak on a subject accompanied by 20 slides. Each slide is displayed for 15 seconds, and slides are automatically advanced. The first Ignite was held in 2006 in Seattle, Washington, and was sponsored by O'Reilly Media and MAKE magazine.
Ignite was founded by Brady Forrest and Bre Pettis. O'Reilly has continued to support Ignite—one occurred during the 2009 OSCON held by the company—but each Ignite is independently organized on the local level. Ignite is almost always free to attend, and is supported financially by sponsorship. To date, Ignite is a global phenomenon held in more than a dozen major metropolitan areas.
A Lightning Talk is a short presentation given at a conference or similar forum. Unlike other presentations, lightning talks last only a few minutes and several will usually be delivered in a single period by different speakers.
Unconference
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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An unconference is a facilitated, participant-driven conference centered around a theme or purpose. The term "unconference" has been applied, or self-applied, to a wide range of gatherings that try to avoid one or more aspects of a conventional conference, such as high fees and sponsored presentations. For example, in 2006, CNNMoney applied the term to diverse events including BarCamp, Bloggercon, and Mashup Camp.[1] The term is primarily used in the geek community, though as of 2009 it has also started to appear in the travel industry[2].
•
History
Most unconference features (facilitated, participant-driven conference centered on a theme or purpose, but without high fees and sponsored presentations) match the characteristics of the traditional science fiction convention held since the 1930s, events which include many members of the geek community.
Harrison Owen developed the Open Space Technology[3] format/method in the mid 1980's. He published Open Space Technology: a User's Guide, in 1993. This book discussed many of the techniques now associated with unconferences, although his book does not use the term "unconference."
Consultants Camp started by Jerry Weinberg has been using the Open Space Technology method for their week long conference since 1988.
The term unconference first appeared in an announcement for the annual XML developers conference in 1998.
Open Space Technology was part of the Agile Universe Conference program in 2002.
The term was used by Lenn Pryor when discussing BloggerCon and was popularized by Dave Winer, the organizer of BloggerCon, in an April 2004 writeup. The first BloggerCon was October 4-5, 2003.
FooCamp is an invitation-only event for the Friends of O'Reilly that was created by Tim O'Reilly and Sara Winge the VP of Corporate Communications for O'Reilly Media. Sara drew on her experience of open space and conversations with Harrison Owen to develop the format [4] The first one happened October 10-12, 2003. In 2005 some of the attendees from previous years decided to produce their own "Bar" Camp.
These three different events, BloggerCon, FooCamp and BarCamp were all part of popularizing the term "unconference". Foo and Bar Camp in particular popularized the form where "there is no agenda until .. the attendees made one up."
In December 2009, the first travel industry unconference was held in the Austrian Alps with an attendance of over 20 people from 10 countries[5].
Styles of facilitation
An unconference can be conducted using a number of different facilitation styles. Some of these are:
• Appreciative Inquiry
• Barcamp
• Birds of a Feather
• Dotmocracy
• The Fishbowl
• Knowledge Cafe
• Lightning Talks
• Nominal Group Technique
• Multi-voting
• Open Space Technology
• Pecha Kucha
• Speed Geeking
• TeachMeet
• World Café[6]

Registration now open for TEDxNJLibraries #tedxnjlibs
March 6, 2010 in Uncategorized | Tags: Add new tag, Arts, Home, Online Writing, Organizations, Poetry, Public Speaking, TED, TED2010 | by lemasney | Leave a comment
Are you interested in community and culture? Do you have ideas to share? Would you like to hear inspiring talks from diverse speakers?
We’d love you to fill out the registration form to attend our independently organized TED event happening on May 7th, 2010.
The form is at http://tedxnjlibraries.com/register and we can’t wait to see how you would like to help shape the event.
For other information about the event, please click on the speaker, team, and other pages.
TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a U.S private nonprofit foundation[1] best known for its conferences, now held in Europe and Asia as well as the U.S., devoted to what it calls "ideas worth spreading".[2] Its lectures or TED Talks, widely disseminated on the internet, are not subject to a time limit.
TED was founded in 1984; the first conference happened in 1990. TED's early emphasis, consistent with a Silicon Valley center of gravity, was largely technology and design. Its co-founder was Richard Saul Wurman, credited with having coined in 1976 the term information architect. As popularity of the talks has spread, so has the range of subject matter, to cover almost all aspects of science and culture. Those who have given TED talks include Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Gordon Brown, Richard Dawkins, Bill Gates, the founders of Google, the evangelist Billy Graham and various Nobel Prize winners.[3]
TED's curator is the British former computer journalist and magazine publisher Chris Anderson. It is owned by the Sapling Foundation.
From 2005 to 2009, three $100,000 TED Prize were awarded annually to help its winners realise a chosen "wish to change the world". Starting in 2010, however, only one winner has been selected to ensure that TED can maximize its efforts of achieving the winner's wish. Each winner unveils their wish at the main annual conference – within the specified 18 minutes.
A convention, in the sense of a meeting, is a gathering of individuals who meet at an arranged place and time in order to discuss or engage in some common interest. The most common conventions are based upon industry, profession, and fandom. Trade conventions typically focus on a particular industry or industry segment, and feature keynote speakers, vendor displays, and other information and activities of interest to the event organizers and attendees. Professional conventions focus on issues of concern to the profession and advancements in the profession. Such conventions are generally organized by societies dedicated to promotion of the topic of interest. Fan conventions usually feature displays, shows, and sales based on pop culture and guest celebrities. Science fiction conventions traditionally partake of the nature of both professional conventions and fan conventions, with the balance varying from one to another. Conventions also exist for various hobbies, such as gaming or model railroads.
Conventions are often planned and coordinated, often in exacting detail, by professional meeting and convention planners, either by staff of the convention's hosting company or by outside specialists. Most large cities will have a convention center dedicated to hosting such events. The term MICE - meetings Incentives Conventions and Exhibitions - is widely used in Asia as a description of the industry. The Convention ("C")is one of the most dynamic elements in the M.I.C.E. segment. The industry is generally regulated under the tourism sector.
In the technical sense, a convention is a meeting of delegates or representatives. The 1947 Newfoundland National Convention is a classic example of a state-sponsored political convention. More often, organizations made up of smaller units, chapters, or lodges, such as labor unions, honorary societies, and fraternities and sororities, meet as a whole in convention by sending delegates of the units to deliberate on the organization's common issues. This also applies to a political convention, though in modern times the common issues are limited to selecting a party candidate or party chairman. In this technical sense, a congress, when it consists of representatives, is a convention. The British House of Commons is a convention, as are most other houses of a modern representative legislature. The National Convention or just "Convention" in France comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from September 20, 1792 to October 26, 1795.
Many sovereign states have provisions for conventions besides their permanent legislature. The Constitution of the United States of America has a provision for the calling of a constitutional convention, whereby delegates of the states are summoned to a special meeting to amend or draft the constitution. This process has never occurred, save for the original drafting of the constitution, although it almost happened in several cases. The US Constitution also has provisions for constitutional amendments to be approved by state conventions of the people. This occurred to ratify the original constitution and to adopt the twenty-first amendment, which ended prohibition.
Con is a common abbreviation for convention, and some conventions (such as DEF CON and Gen Con) use it in their names.
An academic conference is a conference for researchers (not always academics) to present and discuss their work. Together with academic or scientific journals, conferences provide an important channel for exchange of information between researchers.
Generally, work is presented in the form of short, concise presentations lasting about 10 to 30 minutes, usually including discussion. The work may be bundled in written form as academic papers and published as the conference proceedings. Often there are one or more keynote speakers (usually scholars of some standing), presenting a lecture that lasts an hour or so, and which is likely to be advertised before the conference. Panel discussions, round tables on various issues, workshops may be part of the conference, the latter ones particularly if the conference is related to the performing arts.
Prospective presenters are usually asked to submit a short abstract of their presentation, which will be reviewed before the presentation is accepted for the meeting. Some disciplines require presenters to submit a paper of about 6–15 pages, which is peer reviewed by members of the program committee or referees chosen by them.
In some disciplines, such as English and other languages, it is common for presenters to read from a prepared script. In other disciplines such as the sciences, presenters usually base their talk around a visual presentation that displays key figures and research results.
A large meeting will usually be called a conference, while a smaller is termed a workshop. They might be single track or multiple track, where the former has only one session at a time, while a multiple track meeting has several parallel sessions with speakers in separate rooms speaking at the same time.
Depending on the theme of the conference, social or entertainment activities may also be offered; if it’s a large enough conference, academic publishing houses may set up displays offering books at a discount. At larger conferences, business meetings for learned societies or interest groups might also take place.
Academic conferences fall into three categories:
• the themed conference, small conferences organized around a particular topic;
• the general conference, a conference with a wider focus, with sessions on a wide variety of topics. These conferences are often organized by regional, national, or international learned societies, and held annually or on some other regular basis.
• the professional conference, large conferences not limited to academics, but with academically-related issues
The problem of Verisimilitude—or truthlikeness— is the problem of articulating what it takes for one false theory to be closer to the truth than another false theory. This problem was central to the philosophy of Karl Popper, largely because Popper was among the first to affirm that truth is the aim of scientific inquiry while acknowledging that most of the greatest scientific theories in the history of science are strictly speaking false. If this long string of purportedly false theories is to constitute progress with respect to the goal of truth then it must be at least possible for one false theory to be closer to the truth than others.
The Symposium (Ancient Greek: Συμπόσιον) is a philosophical text by Plato dated c. 385–380 BCE.[1] It concerns itself at one level with the genesis, purpose and nature of love and, at another, with the nature of knowledge: How do we know what we know?
Love is examined in a sequence of speeches by men attending a symposium, or drinking party. Each man must deliver an encomium, a speech in praise of Love (Eros). The party takes place at the house of the tragedian Agathon in Athens. The story within a story within a story serves as a convenient device whereby Plato is able to outline his theory of knowledge. Socrates in his speech asserts that the highest purpose of love is to become a philosopher or, literally, a lover of wisdom. The dialogue's atmosphere of verisimilitude has caused it to be mined centuries later as a source by social historians seeking to throw light on life in ancient Athens, in particular upon sexual behavior, and the symposium as an institution.
The dialogue's seven participants are:-
• Phaedrus (speech begins 178a):[2] familiar from Phaedrus and other dialogues.
• Pausanias (speech begins 180c): the legal expert.
• Eryximachus (speech begins 186a): a physician.
• Aristophanes (speech begins 189c): he at first skips his turn because of bout of hiccups. The eminent comic playwright has become a focus of subsequent scholarly debate. His contribution has been seen as mere comic relief, and sometimes as satire: the creation myth he puts forward to account for heterosexuals and homosexuals may be read as poking fun at the myths of origin numerous in classical Greek mythology.
• Agathon (speech begins 195a): his speech may be regarded as self-consciously poetic, gently mocked by Socrates.[3]
• Socrates (speech begins 201d): repeats the story told him by Diotima of Mantinea.
• Alcibiades (speech begins 214e): the final speaker, a beautiful young man. Entering upon the scene late, he pays tribute to Socrates and confirms what the seer Diotima has said about love. Socrates, he suggests, understands the true nature of love because he is a true philosopher, a lover of wisdom.

A11y

In human-computer interaction, computer accessibility (also known as Accessible computing) refers to the accessibility of a computer system to all people, regardless of disability or severity of impairment. It is largely a software concern; when software, hardware, or a combination of hardware and software, is used to enable use of a computer by a person with a disability or impairment, this is known as Assistive Technology.
There are numerous types of impairment that impact computer use. These include:
• Cognitive impairments and learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, ADHD or autism.
• Visual impairment such as low-vision, complete or partial blindness, and color blindness.
• Hearing impairment including deafness or hard of hearing.
• Motor or dexterity impairment such as paralysis, cerebral palsy, or carpal tunnel syndrome and repetitive strain injury.
These impairments can present themselves with variable severity; they may be acquired from disease, trauma or may be congenital or degenerative in nature.
Accessibility is often abbreviated to the numeronym a11y, where the number 11 refers to the number of letters omitted. This parallels the abbreviations of internationalization and localization as i18n and l10n respectively.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 Special needs assessment
• 2 Considerations for specific impairments
o 2.1 Cognitive impairments and illiteracy
o 2.2 Visual impairment
o 2.3 Motor and dexterity impairments
o 2.4 Hearing impairment
• 3 Web accessibility
• 4 Restrictive elements in computer software
o 4.1 Collapsing menus
 4.1.1 Problems
o 4.2 Right click
 4.2.1 Problems
o 4.3 Double click
 4.3.1 Problems
o 4.4 Middle click
 4.4.1 Problems
o 4.5 Accidental Click
 4.5.1 Problems
o 4.6 Mismatched copy and paste
 4.6.1 Problems
o 4.7 Mouseover
 4.7.1 Problems
o 4.8 Drag
 4.8.1 Problems
o 4.9 Neighbouring widgets
 4.9.1 Problems
o 4.10 No dialogue copy facility
 4.10.1 Problems
o 4.11 No keyboard equivalents
 4.11.1 Problems
o 4.12 No joystick
 4.12.1 Problems
o 4.13 Focus stealing
o 4.14 Scrolling menus
 4.14.1 Problems
o 4.15 Touchpad Click
 4.15.1 Problems
 4.15.2 Laptop Computers
o 4.16 Two handedness
 4.16.1 Microsoft Windows NT logon
• 5 See also
• 6 External links
o 6.1 Accessibility features of Operating Systems
o 6.2 Web browser accessibility features
o 6.3 Software platform accessibility features
o 6.4 References

[edit] Special needs assessment
People wishing to overcome an impairment in order to be able to use a computer comfortably and productively may need a "special needs assessment" by an assistive technology consultant (such as an occupational therapist or clinical scientist) to help them identify and configure appropriate assistive hardware and software. In the UK this may be provided by an NHS specialist centre such as Access to Communication and Technology in Birmingham http://www.actwmids.nhs.uk/
Where a disabled person is unable to leave their own home, it may be possible to assess them remotely using remote desktop software and a webcam. The assessor logs on to the client's computer via a broadband Internet connection. The assessor then remotely makes accessibility adjustments to the client's computer where necessary and is also able to observe how they use their computer.
[edit] Considerations for specific impairments
[edit] Cognitive impairments and illiteracy
The biggest challenge in computer accessibility is to make resources accessible to people with cognitive disabilities - particularly those with poor communication skills - and those without reading skills.
Their further development relies on public domain icons being available. Many people with a learning disability learn and rely on proprietary symbols. They thus become tied to particular products. The copyright owners are generally unwilling to release them on the web.
Other examples include Web accessibility a set of guidelines [1] and two accessible[2] web portals designed for people developing reading skills are peepo.com [3] — try typing a letter with your keyboard for more — and peepo.co.uk [4] with enhanced graphics, unique style controls and improved interactivity (requires an SVG supported browser).
[edit] Visual impairment
Another significant challenge in computer accessibility is to make software usable by people with visual impairment, since computer interfaces often solicit input visually and provide visual feedback in response. For individuals with mild to medium vision impairment, it is helpful to use large fonts, high DPI displays, high-contrast themes and icons supplemented with auditory feedback and screen magnifying software.
In the case of severe vision impairment such as blindness, screen reader software that provides feedback via text to speech or a refreshable braille display is a necessary accommodation for interaction with a computer.
About 8% of people, mostly males, suffer from some form of colour-blindness. In a well-designed user interface, colour should not be the only way of distinguishing between different pieces of information. However, the only colour combinations that matter are those that people with a deficiency might confuse, which generally means red and green and blue and green.
[edit] Motor and dexterity impairments
Some people may not be able to use a conventional input device, such as the mouse or the keyboard. Therefore it is important for software functions to be accessible using both devices; ideally, software uses a generic input API that permits the use even of highly specialized devices unheard of at the time of software development. Keyboard shortcuts and mouse gestures are ways to achieve this. More specialized solutions like on-screen software keyboards and alternate input devices like switches, joysticks and trackballs are also available. Speech recognition technology is also a compelling and suitable alternative to conventional keyboard and mouse input as it simply requires a commonly available audio headset.
The astrophysicist Stephen Hawking is a famous example of a person suffering from motor disability. He uses a switch, combined with special software, that allows him to control his wheelchair-mounted computer using his remaining small movement ability. This performs as a normal computer, allowing him to research and produce his written work, and as an Augmentative and Alternative Communication and environmental control device.
[edit] Hearing impairment
While sound user interfaces have a secondary role in common desktop computing, usually limited to system sounds as feedback, software producers take into account people who can't hear, either for personal disability, noisy environments, silence requirements or lack of sound hardware. Such system sounds like beeps can be substituted or supplemented with visual notifications and captioned text (akin to closed captions).
[edit] Web accessibility
Main article: Web accessibility
Enabling access to Web content for all users is the concern of the Web accessibility movement. Websites can be designed to be more accessible by their conformance to certain design principles.
Screen readers are of limited use when reading text from websites designed without consideration to accessibility; this can be due to the differences between spoken and written language and the complexity of text, but it is mainly due to poor page design practices. The tendency to indicate semantic meaning using methods that are purely presentational (e.g. larger or smaller font sizes, using different font colors, or images or multimedia to provide information) restricts meaningful access to some users. Therefore designing sites in accordance with Web accessibility principles helps enable meaningful access for all users.
For example, web designers can ensure that navigation and content is as plain and simple as appropriate and long texts should provide summaries.
See also: alt attribute
[edit] Restrictive elements in computer software
These restrictive elements make utilization of a computer difficult for accessibility users[1]:
[edit] Collapsing menus
Software that incorporates collapsing menus has a facility that makes fundamental menu options not appear when the package menus are activated. Instead a downward facing arrow appears at the bottom of the menu. In order to access the missing menu options, it is necessary to activate the downward facing arrow. The menu will now change to include the missing options, and it is necessary to navigate the menu again to obtain the missing option. The problem reoccurs each time the menu is activated.
[edit] Problems
Problems with software incorporating this feature are:
• The system requires more work for people who have difficulty in using the mouse or keyboard.
• The downward facing arrow is difficult to activate with the mouse or the touchscreen.
• The problem is recursive, requiring the procedure to be repeated each time the option is used.
[edit] Right click
A mouse with two buttons is required. Depression of the second mouse button provides an alternative function to a normal mouse click.
[edit] Problems
Problems with software incorporating this feature are:
The interface is not compatible with touchscreen based systems because touchscreen devices generally do not provide alternative finger recognition or right-click facilities.
Inclusion of a second mouse button causes confusion for left and right-handed users on shared computers.
Users unable to use a mouse cannot access the right-click functionality.
[edit] Double click
Double click is a facility that requires depression of the mouse button in rapid succession to obtain an alternative function to a normal mouse click.
[edit] Problems
Problems with software incorporating this feature are:
• The system may not be usable by people with limited dexterity and have difficulty in using the mouse.
• The double click functionality may not easily be achieved on some touchscreen devices
[edit] Middle click
Middle click is a facility that requires a three button mouse or emulation that requires pressing both mouse buttons simultaneously.
[edit] Problems
Problems with software incorporating this feature are:
The interface is not compatible with touchscreen based systems because touchscreens do not generally provide alternative finger recognition or middleclick facilities.
Users unable to use a mouse cannot access the middleclick functionality.
[edit] Accidental Click
An accidental click is caused when a mouse button is operated without the intention of the user. For example, a user may cause an accidental click, whilst trying to move the pointer across an area of the screen, or whilst trying to operate the scroll button.
[edit] Problems
A user may cause inadvertent or undesirable program operation as a result of an accidental click.
[edit] Mismatched copy and paste
Mismatched copy and paste is a facility built into some software, that causes a paste operation to be mismatched to the copy operation, due to the utilization of multiple copy and paste buffers, rather than a single consistent clipboard.
[edit] Problems
Problems with software incorporating this feature are:
The software becomes awkward to use, because a paste operation does not insert the text selected by the previous copy, and additional selection operations are required.
[edit] Mouseover
Mouseover is an event that occurs on some systems as the pointer is moved over a widget or particular section of the display screen.
[edit] Problems
This may cause an operational limitation in some software, because the user may be using a keyboard or touchscreen device, rather than a conventional pointing device, and may not be able to access the application functionality provided by a mouseover event.
[edit] Drag
A drag event can be achieved by:
• Moving the mouse or pointing device with a button pressed
• A finger or pointer being moved whilst in continuous contact with a touchscreen or tablet device.
• A joystick being moved whilst the button is continually depressed
• The aiming device being moved whilst the trigger is continually depressed
[edit] Problems
One of the problems with software incorporating this feature is that some users find interfaces requiring drag movements are difficult to use, particularly for accessibility users, or users with limited dexterity. On touchpads and touchscreens, it is particularly easy for a user to accidentally release something they are dragging.
[edit] Neighbouring widgets
Neighbouring widgets is a system design flaw in some graphical user interfaces caused by placement of widgets in close proximity to each other.
[edit] Problems
This causes a problem for users who lack precision targeting skills with the mouse pointing device, or users who produce a mouse jolt when they attempt to click a mouse button.
[edit] No dialogue copy facility
No Copy Dialogue is an operational restriction built into some systems that prevents the operator from copying the contents of a message box or dialogue box, for the purpose of copying the information into a document search tool.
[edit] Problems
This limitation causes may cause annoyance to some users, because they find themselves having to retype information that is already on the screen. This may be a considerable amount of additional operational work for an accessibility user.
[edit] No keyboard equivalents
This is a system design flaw, whereby some functionality provided by mouse navigation is not replicated by a keyboard equivalent.
[edit] Problems
The problem with software containing this flaw is that users with limited dexterity will not be able to make use of the required functionality.
Examples of this include the lack of a facilities in Microsoft Word to Switch Between Headers and Footers, or to resize boxes and tables using only the keyboard.
[edit] No joystick
Some windowing systems do not allow the joystick to be used to control the pointer or cursor.
[edit] Problems
This flaw makes the system difficult to operate by users with limited dexterity, because they cannot utilize the joystick for basic system operation.
[edit] Focus stealing
Focus stealing is a facility built into some graphical user interfaces and windowing management systems that allows an application that is not in focus to suddenly gain focus and steal user input intended for the previously focused application.
[edit] Scrolling menus
A scrolling menu facility makes some menu options not appear when the package menus are activated. Instead only a section of the menu is shown and upward and downward downward facing arrow appear at the top and bottom of the menus.
[edit] Problems
The problems with collapsible menus apply to scrolling menus as well. Also, people with learning difficulties may not recognize the menu, because the menu options may be in different positions, depending on the section of the menu that is currently showing.
[edit] Touchpad Click
Touchpad Click is a facility built into some systems that allows a mouse click event to be caused by an operator places their finger on touchpad.
[edit] Problems
Problems with systems that incorporate this facility include:
• An unwanted system event may be caused by the accidental click operation
[edit] Laptop Computers
Some laptop computers are fitted with a touchpad which is the primary interface for controlling pointer movement, making them vulnerable to touchpad click when running systems that provide this facility.
[edit] Two handedness
Two handedness is a limitation within some software packages that requires the operator to make use of both hands simultaneously in order to operate the software. Software affected by this limitation may be inoperable by users with only one hand.
[edit] Microsoft Windows NT logon
The most famous example of a two handedness limitation is the Microsoft Windows NT login, because it requires pressing ctl+alt+del simultaneously (a combination intended to require two hands). Although it is actually possible to use one hand for this, it is difficult for users with limited dexterity, because this requires bending the wrist into an awkward position. The level of difficulty varies depending on the user's keyboard, because the position of the delete key varies between keyboard designs (particularly between laptops and desktops).


Accessibility is a general term used to describe the degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is accessible by as many people as possible. Accessibility can be viewed as the "ability to access" and possible benefit of some system or entity. Accessibility is often used to focus on people with disabilities and their right of access to entities, often through use of assistive technology.
Accessibility is not to be confused with usability which is used to describe the extent to which a product (e.g., device, service, environment) can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use.
Accessibility is strongly related to universal design when the approach involves "direct access". This is about making things accessible to all people (whether they have a disability or not). An alternative is to provide "indirect access" by having the entity support the use of a person's assistive technology to achieve access (e.g., screen readers).
Contents
[hide]
• 1 Disabilities
• 2 Transportation
o 2.1 Accessibility planning
o 2.2 Low floor
• 3 Housing
o 3.1 Adaptations and accommodations
• 4 Telecommunications and IT access
• 5 Meeting and conference access
• 6 Test accessibility
• 7 See also
• 8 References
• 9 See Also
• 10 External links

[edit] Disabilities
The disability rights movement advocates equal access to social, political, and economic life which includes not only physical access but access to the same tools, services, organizations and facilities which we all pay for.


This is the internationally recognized symbol for accessibility
While it is often used to describe facilities or amenities to assist people with disabilities, as in "wheelchair accessible", the term can extend to Braille signage, wheelchair ramps, elevators, audio signals at pedestrian crossings, walkway contours, website design, reading accessibility, and so on.
Various countries have legislation requiring physical accessibility which are (in order of enactment):
• In the US, under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, new public and private business construction generally must be accessible. Existing private businesses are required to increase the accessibility of their facilities when making any other renovations in proportion to the cost of the other renovations. The U.S. Access Board is "A Federal Agency Committed to Accessible Design for People with Disabilities." The Job Accommodation Network discusses accommodations for people with disabilities in the workplace. Many states in the US have their own disability laws.
• In Australia, Disability Discrimination Act 1992 has numerous provisions for accessibility.
• In the UK, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 has numerous provisions for accessibility.
• In South Africa The Promotion of Equality and the Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act 2000 has numerous provisions for accessibility.
• In Ontario, Canada, the Ontarians with Disabilities Act of 2001 is meant to "improve the identification, removal and prevention of barriers faced by persons with disabilities..."
[edit] Transportation


Accessibility to all buses is provided in Curitiba's public transport system, Brazil.


An adapted bus in São Luís, Brazil .
In transportation, accessibility refers to the ease of reaching destinations. People who are in places that are highly accessible can reach many other activities or destinations quickly, people in inaccessible places can reach many fewer places in the same amount of time.
A measure that is often used is to measure accessibility in a traffic analysis zone i is:
where:
• i = index of origin zones
• j = index of destination zones
• = function of generalized travel cost (so that nearer or less expensive places are weighted more than farther or more expensive places).
For a non-motorized mode of transport, such as walking or cycling, the generalized travel cost may include additional factors such as safety or gradient.
Automobile accessibility also refers to ease of use by disabled people.

This section requires expansion.

[edit] Accessibility planning
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport have mandated that each local authority produce an Accessibility Plan that is incorporated in their Local Transport Plan. An Accessibility Plan sets out how each local authority plans to improve access to employment, learning, health care, food shops and other services of local importance, particularly for disadvantaged groups and areas. Accessibility targets are defined in the accessibility plans, these are often the distance or time to access services by different modes of transport including walking, cycling and public transport.
Accessibility Planning was introduced as a result of the report "Making the Connections: Final Report on Transport and Social Exclusion" [1]. This report was the result of research carried out by the Social Exclusion Unit. The United Kingdom also has a "code of practice" for making train and stations accessible: "Accessible Train and Station Design for Disabled People: A Code of Practice" [2]. This code of practice was first published in 2002 with the objective of compliance to Section 71B of the Railways Act 1993, and revised after a public consultation period in 2008.
[edit] Low floor
"Low floor" redirects here
See also: Low-floor bus and Low-floor tram
A significant development in transportation, and public transport in particular, to achieve accessibility, is the move to "low-floor" vehicles. In a low-floor vehicle, access to part or all of the passenger cabin is unobstructed from one or more entrances by the presence of steps, enabling easier access for the infirm or people with push chairs. A further aspect may be that the entrance and corridors are wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair. Low-floor vehicles have been developed for buses, trolleybuses and trams.
A low floor in the vehicular sense is normally combined in a conceptual meaning with normal pedestrian access from a standard kerb height. However, the accessibility of a low-floor vehicle can also be utilised from slightly raising portions of kerb at bus stops, or through use of level boarding bus rapid transit 'stations' or tram stops. The combination of access from a kerb was the technological development of the 1990s, as step-free interior layouts for buses had existed in some cases for decades, with entrance steps being introduced as chassis designs and overall height regulations changed.
Low-floor buses may also be designed with special height adjustment controls that permit a stationary bus to temporarily lower itself to ground level, permitting wheelchair access. This is referred to as a kneeling bus.
At rapid transit systems, vehicles generally have floors in the same height as the platforms but the stations are often underground or elevated, so accessibility there isn't a question of providing low-floor vehicles, but providing a step-free access from street level to the platforms (generally by elevators, which are somewhere restricted to disabled passengers only, so that the step-free access isn't obstructed by healthy people taking advantage).
[edit] Housing
Most existing and new housing, even in the wealthiest nations, lack basic accessibility features unless the designated, immediate occupant of a home currently has a disability. However, there are some initiatives to change typical residential practices so that new homes incorporate basic access features such as zero-step entries and door widths adequate for wheelchairs to pass through. Occupational Therapists are a professional group skilled in the assessment and making of recommendations to improve access to homes.[3] They are involved in both the adaptation of existing housing to improve accessibility,[4] and in the design of future housing.[5]
Great Britain applies the most widespread application of home access to date. In 1999, Parliament passed Section M, an amendment to residential building regulations requiring basic access in all new homes.[6] In the United States, the 1988 Amendments to the Fair Housing Act added people with disabilities, as well as familial status, to the classes already protected by law from discrimination (race, color, gender, religion, creed, and country of origin). Among the protection for people with disabilities in the 1988 Amendments are seven construction requirements for all multifamily buildings of more than four units first occupied after March 13, 1991. These seven requirements are as follows:[7]
1. An accessible building entrance on an accessible route,
2. Accessible common and public use areas,
3. Doors usable by a person in a wheelchair,
4. Accessible route into and through the dwelling unit,
5. Light switches, electrical outlets, thermostats and other environmental controls in accessible locations,
6. Reinforced walls in bathrooms for later installation of grab bars, and
7. Usable kitchens and bathrooms.
Access is typically defined within the limits of what a person sitting in a wheelchair is able to reach with arm movement only, with minimal shifting of the legs and torso. Lighting and thermostat controls should not be above and power outlets should not be below the reach of a person in a wheelchair.
Sinks and cooking areas typically need to be designed without cupboards below them, to permit the legs of the wheelchair user to roll underneath, and countertops may be of reduced height to accommodate a sitting rather than standing user. In some cases two food preparation areas may be combined into a single kitchen to permit both standing and wheelchair users.
In spite of these advancements, the housing types where most people in the United States reside —single-family homes—are not covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Act, or any other federal law with the exception of the small percentage of publicly-funded homes impacted by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. As a result, the great majority of new single-family homes replicate the barriers in existing homes.
The broad concept of Universal Design is relevant to housing, as it is to all aspects of the built environment. Furthermore, a Visitability movement begun by grass roots disability advocates in the 1980s focuses specifically on changing construction practices in new housing. This movement, a network of interested people working in their locales, works on educating, passing laws, and spurring voluntary home access initiatives with the intention that basic access become a routine part of new home construction.
[edit] Adaptations and accommodations
Many ranch style homes and manufactured homes utilize a main floor slightly raised above ground level, but have an overall flat layout with either a crawlspace or slightly raised basement below for plumbing, electrical, and heating systems. These homes can be relatively easily modified to accommodate wheelchairs and walkers, with the installation of a long low-rise ramp outside the building, up to the house entrance, placed over the existing stairway. This ramp can then be removed at a later time, reverting back to the stairway entrance if the handicapped access is no longer necessary.
Split level homes tend to be designed with multiple internal stairways and half-floor landings inside the building. There may be an entrance area inside the building at ground level, with stairs inside the entrance that immediately go up and down from the ground level. These homes are difficult to accommodate inexpensively since there is often no space available inside the structure to install long sloping wheelchair ramps to access the various floors. It may be possible to retrofit stair lifts into the stairwells or wheelchair lifts into balconies near the stairwell.
Multi-story homes can sometimes be accommodated by installing a private residential elevator, which is usually much less expensive and has fewer design and layout requirements than a full commercial elevator. Homebuilders can in some cases plan for a future residential elevator by designing closet spaces in each floor stacked vertically with the same dimensions and location. At a later time the closet floors and ceilings are removed and the elevator equipment is installed into the open shaft.

This section requires expansion.

[edit] Telecommunications and IT access
This section's factual accuracy is disputed. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page. (November 2009)


This article's factual accuracy may be compromised because of out-of-date information. Please help improve the article by updating it. There may be additional information on the talk page. (November 2009)

Main article: Design for All (in ICT)
Another dimension of accessibility is the ability to access information and services by minimizing the barriers of distance and cost as well as the usability of the interface. In many countries this has led to initiatives, laws and regulations that aim toward providing universal access to the internet and to phone systems at reasonable cost to citizens.
Currently there are a few major movements to coordinate a set of guidelines for accessibility for the web. The first and most well known is The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), which is part of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). This organization developed the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 1.0 which explains how to make Web content accessible to people with disabilities. Web "content" generally refers to the information in a Web page or Web application, including text, images, forms, sounds, and such. (More specific definitions are available in the WCAG documents.)[8]
The WCAG is separated into 3 levels of compliance, A, AA and AAA. Each level requires a stricter set of conformance guidelines, such as different versions of HTML (Transitional vs Strict) and other techniques that need to be incorporated into your code before accomplishing validation. Online tools such as the Watchfire WebXACT engine or the imergo Web Compliance Manager will allow users to submit their website and automatically run it through the WCAG guidelines and produce a report, stating whether or not they conform to each level of compliance. Adobe Dreamweaver also offers plugins which allow web developers to test these guidelines on their work from within the program.
Another source of web accessibility guidance comes from the US government. Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act is a comprehensive set of rules designed to help web designers make their sites accessible. The U.S. General Services Administration have also developed a website where one can take online training courses for free to learn about these rules[9].
In general, for a website to comply with accessibility standards, they should at least have the following:
• (X)HTML Validation from the W3C for the pages content
• CSS Validation from the W3C for the pages layout
• At least WAI-AA (preferably AAA) compliance with the WAI's WCAG
• Compliance with all guidelines from Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act
• Access keys built into the HTML
• Semantic Web Markup
• A high contrast version of the site for individuals with low vision
• Alternative media for any multimedia used on the site (video, flash, audio, etc)
Another good idea is for websites to include a web accessibility statement on the site. This page details the accessible status of the page, lists access keys and can display which validations have been achieved for the site as well as include their pledge for accessibility. Example of an accessibility statement
[edit] Meeting and conference access
Meetings and conferences should consider the needs of all of their participants. Checklists such as this may make it easier to identify specific needs:
Mobility access
• Wheelchair accessible transportation
• Reserved parking
• Barrier-free meeting rooms / restrooms / podium/speaker's platform
• Handicap accessible lodging
Hearing access
• Advance copies of papers
• An assistive listening system
• Sign language interpreters
• A quiet place to gather for social conversation (a quieter space that is still visible to others should be reserved at social events or dinners so that people who are hard of hearing may go there to talk with their colleagues.)
• TTY access or Internet-based TRS
Sight access
• Large print/braille copies of the program and papers
• A student volunteer to guide and describe the artwork, computer work, etc.
• A tech to help with assistive devices and screen readers (e.g., JAWS reader)
• Gloves to touch three dimensional work (where permissible)
Other issues
• Notification if social events include flashing lights and noises (these can cause seizures, so either avoid them or announce them ahead of time).
• Notices asking participants to refrain from allergy-producing problems (e.g., perfumes)
• Inform food providers of food allergies (e.g., peanuts, shellfish, etc.)
• Referral information for local personal care attendant agencies
• Referral information for veterinarian care for service animals
• Access to a place to rest during the day (if the conference venue is far from the lodgings)
[edit] Test accessibility
Test accessibility is defined as the extent to which a test and its constituent item set eliminates barriers and permits the test-taker to demonstrate his or her knowledge of the tested content. Test accessibility involves an interaction between features of the test and individual test-taker characteristics.
With the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, student accountability in essential content areas such as reading, mathematics, and science has become a major area of focus in educational reform. As a result, test developers have needed to create tests to ensure all students, including those with special needs (e.g., students identified with disabilities), are given the opportunity to demonstrate the extent to which they have mastered the content measured on state assessments. Currently, states are permitted to develop two different types of tests in addition to the standard grade-level assessments to target students with special needs. First, the alternate assessment may be used to report proficiency for up to 1% of students in a state. Second, new regulations permit the use of alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards to report proficiency for up to 2% of students in a state.
To ensure these new tests generate results that permit valid inferences about student performance, they must be accessible to as many individuals as possible. The Test Accessibility and Modification Inventory (TAMI)[10] and its companion evaluation tool, the Accessibility Rating Matrix (ARM), were designed to facilitate the evaluation of tests and test items with a focus on enhancing their accessibility. Both instruments integrate principles of accessibility theory and were guided by research on universal design, assessment accessibility, cognitive load theory, and research on item-writing and test development. The TAMI is a non-commercial instrument that has been made available to all state assessment directors and testing companies. Assessment researchers have used the ARM to conduct accessibility reviews of state assessment items for several state departments of education.
Game accessibility
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In human-computer interaction, game accessibility refers to the accessibility of electronic games (computer games or console games) to all people, regardless of disability or severity of impairment. Game accessibility can be considered to be a sub field of computer accessibility. A significant number of people encounter barriers to access when playing video games, due to a disability. As the popularity of games increases, making games accessible becomes more important. As Educational games are increasingly used as education tools, there may be a legal obligation to make them accessible, as Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act mandates that schools and universities that rely on federal funding must make their electronic and information technologies accessible. A recent study conducted by casual games studio PopCap games found that an estimated one in five casual video gamers have a physical, mental or developmental disability[1].
Contents
[hide]
• 1 Accessibility Problems
• 2 Accessible game Categories
• 3 Guidelines
• 4 Advocacy Organisations
• 5 Accessible Gaming sites
o 5.1 Non-English Accessible Gaming Sites
• 6 References

[edit] Accessibility Problems
Accessibility problems when playing video games may include:
1. Not being able to receive feedback from the game due to a sensory impairment. Example include: not being able to hear dialogue between game characters or audio cues, such as an explosion, because of an Hearing impairment and unable to see visual feedback to a Visual impairment.
2. Not being able to determine what input to provide to the game; for example, not being able to understand how to play the game because of a Cognitive impairment.
3. Not being able to provide input using a conventional input device; for example, someone who can only play games using switch input due to a motor impairment.
[edit] Accessible game Categories
Over the past decade, small companies and independent game developers have developed numerous games to accomodate the abilities for users with the most severe impairments and which has led to the definition of the following accessible game categories:
• Audio games are games specifically for gamers who are blind. These games can be played without visual feedback and instead use audio based techniques such as audio cues or synthetic speech.
• One-switch games are games that can be played using switch access and which accomodate the abilities of users with severe motor impairments.
• Universally Accessible games are games that offer multiple interfaces to support different impairments.
These games are not only great examples of accessible games, but also drive innovation in game design. In recent years, game accessibility has been actively researched, for example in student projects [2]. The unique limitations of the target group make such projects interesting, instructive and challenging for students.
[edit] Guidelines
Games are fundamentally different from software, as their primary purpose is to entertain and not to support a user in performing a certain task such as writing a letter. This difference makes it difficult to apply existing software accessibility guidelines as they don't incorporate this entertainment element. There have been two attempts at composing a set of game accessibility guidelines similar to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. The Independent Game Developers Association (IGDA) Special Interest Group on Game Accessibility proposed 19 accessibility guidelines in 2004, which were derived from a survey of 20 accessible games[3]. The majority of the games surveyed include games for the visually impaired, and several support motor or hearing impaired gamers. The Norwegian Medialt organization published a set of 34 game accessibility guidelines on their website[4], based on the 19 IGDA game accessibility SIG guidelines as well as their own set of guidelines.
[edit] Advocacy Organisations
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To raise awareness within the game industry of the importance of making games accessible, in recent years several advocacy organizations and groups have been formed.
In 2003, the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) introduced the Game Accessibility Special Interest Group, founded by Thomas Westin and currently chaired by Michelle Hinn. In 2006, the Bartiméus Accessibility foundation initiated the Game Accessibility project, a project which focuses on creating awareness and providing information for game developers, researchers and gamers with disabilities, led by Richard Van Tol. These two major groups work together as advocates within the game industry for increasing the accessibility of video games for gamers with disabilities.
In 2004 two disabled gamers, Mark Barlet and Stephanie Walker, founded AbleGamers.com, set out to further advance game accessibility. Some of their efforts include: pressuring NCSoft to remove Game Guard from the game Aion and discussing with game developer Blizzard the addition of color blind friendly enhancements to the game World of Warcraft.
In 2010 the Accessible GameBase was launched by the charity SpecialEffect. This site aims to develop (and is developing) a welcoming, all-encompassing gaming community. This, alongside outreach projects such as accessible gaming roadshows and the development of a significant accessible gaming database, will see positive change.
Despite these, and many other initiatives, the situation is far from perfect: Many game developers are still very much unaware of game accessibility. Developers who acknowledge the importance of game accessibility and want to use it in their designs often don't know how to do so. Games developed in research-projects usually consist of small demos ("proofs of concept") which lack the quality and (re)playability of mainstream games. This is usually also the case with games that have been developed by the small companies and hobbyists. Knowledge about accessible game design that is gained in projects often failed to get documented. Overall, there are too little resources available on the subject.
Universal design refers to a broad-spectrum solution that produces buildings, products and environments that are usable and effective for everyone, not just people with disabilities.
It emerged from "barrier-free" or "accessible design" and "assistive technology" and recognizes the importance of how things look. For example, while built up handles are a way to make utensils more usable for people with gripping limitations, some companies introduced larger, easy to grip and attractive handles as feature of mass produced utensils. They appeal to a wide range of consumers.
As life expectancy rises and modern medicine has increased the survival rate of those with significant injuries, illnesses and birth defects, there is a growing interest in universal design. There are many industries in which universal design is having strong market penetration but there are many others in which it has not yet been adopted to any great extent.
Universal design is a part of everyday living and is all around us. The "undo" command in most software products is a good example. Color-contrast dish ware with steep sides that assist those with visual problems as well as those with dexterity problems are another. Additional examples include cabinets with pull-out shelves, kitchen counters at several heights to accommodate different tasks and postures and low-floor buses that kneel and are equipped with ramps rather than lifts.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 The Principles of Universal Design
• 2 Examples
• 3 Design standards
• 4 See also
• 5 References
• 6 External links

[edit] The Principles of Universal Design
"The authors, a working group of architects, product designers, engineers and environmental design researchers, collaborated to establish the following Principles of Universal Design to guide a wide range of design disciplines including environments, products, and communications." - [1]
1. Equitable use
2. Flexibility in use
3. Simple and intuitive
4. Perceptible information
5. Tolerance for error
6. Low physical effort
7. Size and space for approach and use
(from the Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University)
These principles are broader than those of accessible design.
[edit] Examples
• Smooth ground surfaces of entranceways, without stairs
• Wide interior doors and hallways
• Lever handles for opening doors rather than twisting knobs
• Light switches with large flat panels rather than small toggle switches
• Buttons on control panels that can be distinguished by touch
• Bright and appropriate lighting, particularly task lighting
• Auditory output redundant with information on visual displays
• Visual output redundant with information in auditory output
• Contrast controls on visual output
• Use of meaningful icons as well as text labels
• Clear lines of sight (to reduce dependence on sound)
• Volume controls on auditory output
• Speed controls on auditory output
• Choice of language on speech output
• Ramp access in swimming pools
• Closed captioning on television networks
[edit] Design standards
In October 2003, representatives from China, Japan, and South Korea met in Beijing and agreed to set up a committee to define common design standards for a wide range of products and services that are easy to understand and use. Their goal is to publish a standard in 2004 which covers, among other areas, standards on containers and wrappings of household goods (based on a proposal from experts in Japan), and standardization of signs for public facilities, a subject which was of particular interest to China as it prepared to host the 2008 Summer Olympics.
The International Organization for Standardization, the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization, and the International Electrotechnical Commission have developed:
• [1]; CEN/CENELEC Guide 6. Guidelines for standards developers to address the needs of older persons and persons with disabilities (Identical to ISO/IEC Guide 71, but free for download)
These standards are still under development:
• ISO 20282-1 – Ease of operation of everyday products — Part 1: Context of use and user characteristics
• ISO 20282-2 – Ease of operation of everyday products — Part 2: Test method
[edit] See also
• Accessibility
• Bobby (software)
• Design for All (in ICT)
• Design for All
• Design thinking
• Ergonomics
• Gerontechnology
• Inclusion (value and practice)
• Industrial design
• Knowbility
• Marc Harrison
• Social model of disability
• Usability
• Universal usability
• Universal Design for Learning
• Visitability A movement promoting basic access features in every new home
National legislation:
The social model of disability proposes that systemic barriers, negative attitudes and exclusion by society (purposely or inadvertently) are the ultimate factors defining who is disabled and who is not in a particular society. It recognizes that while some people have physical, sensory, intellectual, or psychological variations, which may sometimes cause individual functional limitation or impairments, these do not have to lead to disability, unless society fails to take account of and include people regardless of their individual differences.
The model does not deny that some individual differences lead to individual limitations or impairments, but rather that these are not the cause of individuals being excluded. The origins of the approach can be traced to the 1960s and the disabled people's Civil Rights Movement/human rights movements; the specific term itself emerged from the United Kingdom in the 1980s.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 History
• 2 Components and usage
• 3 Policy
• 4 See also
• 5 External links

[edit] History
The approach behind the model is traced to the 1960s. In 1976, the UK organization Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation (UPIAS) claimed that disability was: ‘the disadvantage or restriction of activity caused by a contemporary social organization which takes little or no account of people who have physical impairments and thus excludes them from participation in the mainstream of social activities.’
In 1983, the disabled academic Mike Oliver coined the phrase ‘social model of disability’ in reference to these ideological developments. Oliver focused on the idea of an individual model (of which the medical was a part) versus a social model, derived from the distinction originally made between impairment and disability by the UPIAS.
The 'social model' was extended and developed by academics and activists in the UK, US and other countries, and extended to include all disabled people, including those who have learning difficulties, or have experienced the mental health system.
[edit] Components and usage
A fundamental aspect of the social model concerns equality. The struggle for equality is often compared to the struggles of other socially marginalized groups. Equal rights are said to give empowerment and the 'ability' to make decisions and the opportunity to live life to the fullest. A related phrase often used by disability rights campaigners, as with other social activism, is "Nothing About Us Without Us."
The social model of disability often focuses on changes required in society. These might be in terms of:
• Attitudes, for example a more positive attitude toward certain mental traits or behaviors, or not underestimating the potential quality of life of those with potential impairments
• Social support, for example help dealing with the above barriers, resources, aids or positive discrimination to overcome them.
• Information, for example using suitable formats (e.g. braille) or levels (e.g. simplicity of language) or coverage (e.g. explaining issues others may take for granted)
• Physical structures, for example buildings with sloped access and elevators.
The social model of disability implies that attempts to change, 'fix' or 'cure' individuals, especially when against the wishes of the patient, can be discriminatory and prejudiced. It is often contended that this attitude, often seen as stemming from a medical model and a subjective value system, can harm the self-esteem and social inclusion of those constantly subjected to it (e.g. being told they are not as good or valuable, in some overall and core sense, as others).
Some communities have actively resisted 'treatments', often alongside defending a unique culture or set of abilities. Some examples include: deaf parents arguing against cochlear implants for deaf infants who cannot consent to them, and valuing sign language even if most do not 'speak' it; people diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder arguing against efforts to change them to be more like others.
They argue instead for acceptance of neurodiversity and accommodation to different needs and goals; people diagnosed with a mental disorder arguing that they are just different, don't necessarily conform, or have a psychosocial disability ultimately caused by discrimination or exclusion by society.
The social model implies that practices such as eugenics are founded on social values and a prejudiced understanding of the potential and value of those labeled disabled.
The social model of disability is often based on a distinction between the terms 'impairment' and 'disability.' Impairment is used to refer to the actual attributes (or loss of attributes) of a person, whether in terms of limbs, organs or mechanisms, including psychological. Disability is used to refer to the restrictions caused by society when it does not give equivalent attention and accommodation to the needs of individuals with impairments.
The social model also relates to economics. It proposes that people can be disabled by a lack of resources to meet their needs. It addresses issues such as the under-estimation of the potential of people to contribute to society and add economic value to society, if given equal rights and equally suitable facilities and opportunities as others.
[edit] Policy
In the United Kingdom, the Disability Discrimination Act defines disability using the medical model - disabled people are defined as people with certain conditions, or certain limitations on their ability to carry out ‘normal day-to-day activities.’ But the requirement of employers and service providers to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to their policies or practices, or physical aspects of their premises, follows the social model.
By making adjustments, employers and service providers are removing the barriers that disable - according to the social model, they are effectively removing the person's disability. However, in 2006, amendments to the act called for local authorities and others to actively promote disability equality. We are yet to see if this means the social model of disability will be more rigorously observed.
In the United States, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is a wide-ranging civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made discrimination based on race, religion, sex, national origin, and other characteristics illegal. Certain specific conditions are excluded, including alcoholism and transsexualism.
[edit] See also
• Inclusion (disability rights)
• Ableism
• Medical model of disability
Inclusion (disability rights)
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For the concept of inclusion in organizational culture, see the article Inclusion (value and practice).
Inclusion is a term used by people with disabilities and other disability rights advocates for the idea that all people should freely, openly and without pity accommodate any person with a disability without restrictions or limitations of any kind. In the United Kingdom, it is symbolized most readily in British Broadcasting Corporation radio programs like Ouch!; in the United States New York City and San Francisco Bay Area communities, the I AM PWD Project, AXIS Dance Company, The GIMP Project, Theater Breaking Through Barriers, Visible Theater, and Nicu's Spoon are all part of this emerging phenomenon. Lawrence Carter-Long, a nationally-acknowledged US social advocate and orator in the disability rights field with spastic diplegia, runs the disTHIS! Film Series once a month.
The concept emphasizes universal design for accessibility issues but typically emphasizes the need for disabled people — the inclusion-rights community usually uses the reclaimed word "cripple" or "crip" instead — to immerse themselves, sometimes forcibly, into mainstream culture through various modes of artistic expression. Inclusion advocates argue that melding what they term "disability-art" or "dis/art" into mainstream art makes integration of different body types unavoidable, direct, and thus positive. They argue it helps able-bodied people deal with their fears of being or becoming disabled, which, unbeknownst to the person, is usually what underlies both the feelings of "inspiration" and feelings of pity s/he may have when watching a disabled person moving in his or her unusual way(s), or in participating in activities that obviously draw attention to the person's condition(s).
While mainstreaming is limited to putting a person with a disability next to typical people, in hope that each will adapt to and learn about the other. Inclusion argues that the whole of society, its physical accessibility, and its social attitudes should exist with universal design in mind, thus ending physical marginalization by ending the idea that a body that is different is incapable of self-management.
Although the concept of inclusion began as a way to ensure that disabled children were educated at the same school they would have attended if not disabled,[citation needed] inclusion today is considered an all-encompassing practice of ensuring that people of differing abilities belong, are engaged, and are connected to the goals and objectives of the whole wider society.
This attitude is quite divergent from the prevailing attitude in most countries. Inclusion's opposite tends to be an attitude or undercurrent of pity and/or sorrow among the population of people without disabilities towards people with disabilities, and, among the medical community, an attitude of over-medicalization (see Medical model of disability) — focusing constantly on the physical and/or mental therapies, medications, surgeries and assistive devices that might help to "normalize" the disabled person as much as possible to their surrounding environment, rather than concentrating on universal design. The attitude of inclusion, which has a lot in common with the social model of disability, alleges that this entire approach is wrong and that those who have physical, sensory and/or intellectual impairments are automatically put on a much more effective and fulfilling road to full participation in society if they are, instead, looked at and valued by society from the outset as totally "normal" people who just happen to have these "extra differences."
The late Prime Minister Olof Palme of Sweden, speaking at the Stanford University Law School in the 1970s, summed up the divergence between Swedish attitudes towards people with disabilities and the prevailing attitude in the United States: the latter, he said, regard the able-bodied and the disabled as effectively two separate species; the former, as humans in different life stages wherein, just as all babies are cared for by parents, sick people by the well; elderly people by those younger and healthier. Able-bodied people are able to help those who need it, without pity, because they know their turn at not being able-bodied will come. Palme maintained that if it cost the country $US 40,000 per year to enable a person with a disability to work at a job that paid $40,000, the society gained a net benefit, because the society benefited by allowing this worker to participate cooperatively, rather than to be a drain on other people's time and money.[citation needed]
The prevailing pity-based attitude, as well as the physical inaccessibility, tends to be the case regardless of a country's industrialization; e.g., in the United States as in Thailand there remains more in common attitudinally with pity than with inclusion.[citation needed] However, the reasons for this phenomenon being more the case in the United States than in similarly industrialized countries such as Canada and much of Western Europe are not entirely clear.[original research?] Some say that the older architecture of the United States' more prominent cities makes structural adjustment for disabled people costly and supposedly impractical, leading indirectly to a high measure of hostility towards disabled people lest they end up feeling entitled to receive such adjustments unquestionably. Others tend to blame the attitude of Social Darwinism more generally, accusing it of corrupting the attitude of "normal" able-bodied people in the United States towards disabled people in essentially all areas — often to the point that it prevents that country's culture from readily accepting disabled people as totally full and equal members of society in aspects and venues that are not directly legality or law-related, e.g. theater, film, dance, and sexuality. (See also the article Ableism.)
Like the social movements of feminism, anti-racism and gay rights before it, inclusion is often derided by critics from the right as naïvité, and by critics from the left as identity politics. As it looks less towards overcoming and achieving and more towards being and existing in the moment, inclusion by its very nature forces others in the world to possibly begin to actually accept bodily forms and processes they may not be immediately comfortable with.
The Matching Person & Technology Model organizes influences on the successful use of a variety of technologies: Assistive Technology, Educational Technology, and those used in the workplace, school, home; for healthcare, for mobility and performing daily activities. Specialized devices for hearing loss, speech, eyesight and cognition as well as general or everyday technologies are also included.Research shows that although a technology may appear perfect for a given need, it may be used inappropriately or even go unused when critical personality preferences, psychosocial characteristics or needed environmental support are not considered. The use and non-use of technology as conceptualized in the Matching Person & Technology Model has been validated by many researchers and authors representing the fields of occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech language pathology, psychology, and others. The Matching Person and Technology Model is operationalized by a series of reliable and valid measures that provide a person-centered and individualized approach to matching individuals with the most appropriate technologies for their use. The Matching Person & Technology Model and measures were developed by Marcia J. Scherer, Ph.D. beginning in 1986.
Special education is the education of students with special needs in a way that addresses the students' individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials, accessible settings, and other interventions designed to help learners with special needs achieve a higher level of personal self-sufficiency and success in school and community than would be available if the student were only given access to a typical classroom education.
Common special needs include learning difficulties, communication challenges, emotional and behavioral disorders, physical disabilities, and developmental disorders.[1] Students with these kinds of special needs are likely to benefit from additional educational services, different approaches to teaching, access to a resource room and use of technology.
Intellectual giftedness is a difference in learning and can also benefit from specialized teaching techniques or different educational programs, but the term "special education" is generally used to specifically indicate instruction of students whose special needs reduce their ability to learn independently or in a classroom, and gifted education is handled separately.
The opposite of special education is general education. General education is the standard curriculum presented with standard teaching methods and without additional supports.
Adapted Physical Education (APE) is a sub-discipline of physical education. It is an individualized program created for students with disabilities in order to ensure safe and successful physical education opportunities. Physical education involves physical fitness, motor fitness, fundamental motor skills and patterns, aquatics skills, dance skills, individual, group games, and sports (including lifetime sports). Adapted Physical Education is a direct service, not a related service.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 Students Who Receive Services
o 1.1 Autism
o 1.2 Blindness
o 1.3 Deafness
o 1.4 Emotional Disturbance
o 1.5 Hearing Impairment
o 1.6 Mental Retardation
o 1.7 Multiple Disabilities
o 1.8 Orthopedic Impairment
o 1.9 Other Health Impairment
o 1.10 Specific Learning Disability
o 1.11 Speech or Language Impairment
o 1.12 Traumatic Brain Injury
o 1.13 Visual Impairment Including Blindness
• 2 Laws
o 2.1 No Child Left Behind
o 2.2 American with Disabilities Act (P.L. 101-336)
o 2.3 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
o 2.4 Education for All Handicapped Children Act (P.L. 94-142)
o 2.5 The Rehabilitation Act (P.L. 93-112, Section 504)
• 3 Individual Education Program or IEP
o 3.1 Information in an IEP Includes
o 3.2 Purpose
o 3.3 Who Must be Present at an IEP for Physical Education Meeting
o 3.4 Steps in the Assessment and IEP Processes
o 3.5 IEP Timeline
o 3.6 Who is qualified/responsible/or should provide the assessment?
o 3.7 Role of the Regular Physical Educator in maintaining the IEP
o 3.8 IEP Tips
o 3.9 Do all students with disabilities need an IEP for physical education?
o 3.10 What happens at the end of the year?
o 3.11 What information should I bring to the end-of-year IEP in physical education meeting?
• 4 Placement Options
• 5 Adaptations
o 5.1 ADAPT-A-BAG
• 6 Teaching Suggestions in Physical Education for Common Disabilities
o 6.1 Autism
 6.1.1 Common Characteristics
 6.1.2 Display unusual gross and fine motor behaviors
 6.1.3 Atypical ways of students with autism communicate
 6.1.4 Teaching Tips
o 6.2 Spina Bifida
o 6.3 Cerebral Palsy
o 6.4 Visual Impairments
o 6.5 Hearing Impairments
o 6.6 Muscular Dystrophy
• 7 Transition
o 7.1 Example of a Transition Plan
o 7.2 People Involved in Individual Transition Plan
o 7.3 Advocacy for Transition
o 7.4 Barriers to Transition
o 7.5 Overcoming Barriers and Improving a Transition Program
o 7.6 Use of Technology
• 8 References
• 9 Scope

Emotional and behavioral disorders
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This article may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (November 2008)

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Emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) is a broad category which is used commonly in educational settings, to group a range of more specific perceived difficulties of children and adolescents. Both general definitions as well as concrete diagnosis of EBD may be controversial as the observed behavior may depend on many factors.
Often EBD students may have other disabilities such as: PDD, autism, Rett syndrome, PDD-NOS, Asperger syndrome and ADHD.
[edit] Strategies for students classified with EBD
1. Routine: Provide a structured routine with visual time clock. Auditory sound cues may be helpful in addition to visual cues to help students manage their time efficiently. Post schedule and refer to schedule on regular basis. Routines may take 6-8 weeks to establish or even more for this population of students.
2. Changes in Routine: Convey any changes of routine to students as soon as available. The sooner students are aware of changes the more time students have to adjust to the new routine.
3. Classroom Jobs Chart/Classroom Order Chart: Classroom jobs offer an opportunity for student to show responsibility. In order to ensure success, make sure students have an opportunity to experience every job. One suggestion is having a chart with each students name and according job. Every week rotate the jobs. The list can double as the order in which students line up or choose preferred activities. Students with EBD classification tend to be competitive and need specific procedures informing the order students line up and choose activities.
4. Logical Consequences: Students must fix what they break. If a student pushes over a desk, he or she must pick it up. If a student runs in the hall, she must practice walking the correct way. If the student talks during the lesson, student must make up the work on his time. Be consistent with consequences so students know what is expected of them.
5. Target Behaviors: After taking data on students' observable behavior, determine which behavior or behaviors to direct attention. Work with student to develop a plan to replace undesirable behavior with a more suitable behavior. If student throws desks and pencils when angry, have student work on communicating anger to an adult or trusted peer and how to be assertive without being aggressive.
6. Small Flexible Grouping: Students with EBD may have difficulty establishing relationships with peers. Abusive language and other behaviors may interfere with learning. Smaller groups decrease distractions and student-to-teacher ratio. Differentiation of instruction is more manageable with smaller groups.
7. Audience: During a serious behavior episode, the most effective strategy may be to remove the audience. The audience typically is other peers but may be other adults. The audience can be removed by moving the student if he or she is willing. However, moving the audience may be necessary in some cases. Develop a procedure with your class which will function as an "everybody out" drill. Behaviors amplified with an audience may be reduced or complete stopped when an audience is removed.



1. Calm spot: Have a designated area of the classroom for students to calm down. This spot can be used pro actively to prevent behaviors. Alternatively, the spot may be used after a behavior occurs to give the student a chance to refocus.
2. Choices: Students may frustrate easily when doing work. Giving students an option of when to complete the work is a powerful tool. For example, a teacher may say, "You need to get this done today. Would you rather do it now or during your free time?"
Language-based learning disabilities or LBLD are “heterogeneous” disorders associated with young children that affect their academic skills such as listening, reasoning[1] speaking, reading, writing, and math calculations. It is also associated with movement, coordination, and direct attention. LBLD is not usually identified until the child reaches school age. Most of the children with this disorder find it hard to communicate, to express ideas efficiently and whatever they say can be ambiguous and hard to understand[2] It is caused by brain damage[3] or a structural development of brain usually at birth. It is often hereditary, and is frequently associated to specific language problems[4] there are two types of LBLD, non-verbal, which includes disabilities from psychomotor difficulties to dyslexia. The other type is language based


Developmental disability is a term used in the United States to describe life-long, disabilities attributable to mental and/or physical impairments, manifested prior to age 18.[1] The term is used most commonly in the United States to refer to disabilities affecting daily functioning in three or more of the following areas:
• capacity for independent living
• economic self-sufficiency
• learning
• mobility
• receptive and expressive language
• self-care
• self-direction
The term first appeared in U.S. law in 1970, when Congress used the term to describe the population of individuals who had historically been placed in state institutions, in its effort to improve conditions in these dehumanizing facilities (P.L. 91-517, “The Developmental Disabilities Services and Facilities Construction Act of 1970”). The law has since been amended many times, and now calls for the full community inclusion and self-determination of people with developmental disabilities (P.L. 106-402).
Frequently, people with mental retardation, cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorder, various genetic and chromosomal disorders such as Down syndrome and Fragile X syndrome, and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder are described as having developmental disabilities.
Developmental disabilities are usually classified as severe, profound, moderate or mild, as assessed by the individual's need for supports, which may be lifelong.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 Causes of developmental disabilities
• 2 Associated issues
o 2.1 Physical health issues
o 2.2 Mental health issues (dual diagnoses)
o 2.3 Abuse and vulnerability
o 2.4 Challenging behaviour
• 3 Societal attitudes towards developmental disabilities
• 4 Services and support
o 4.1 Education and training
o 4.2 At-home and community support
o 4.3 Residential accommodation
o 4.4 Employment support
o 4.5 Day services
o 4.6 Advocacy
o 4.7 Other types of support
• 5 See also
• 6 References
• 7 Further reading

[edit] Causes of developmental disabilities
There are many social, environmental and physical causes of developmental disabilities, although for some a definitive cause may never be determined. Common factors causing developmental disabilities include:
• Brain injury or infection before, during or after birth.
• Growth or nutrition problems.
• Abnormalities of chromosomes and genes.
• Birth long before the expected birth date - also called extreme prematurity.
• Poor diet and health care.
• Drug misuse during pregnancy, including alcohol intake and smoking.
• Child abuse, which can severely affect a child's socio-emotional development.
• An autism spectrum disorder.
Developmental disabilities affect between 1 and 2% of the population in most western countries, although many government sources acknowledge that statistics are flawed in this area. The worldwide proportion of people with developmental disabilities is believed to be approximately 1.4%.[2] It is twice as common in males as in females, and some researchers have found that the prevalence of mild developmental disabilities is likely to be higher in areas of poverty and deprivation, and among people of certain ethnicities.[3]
[edit] Associated issues
[edit] Physical health issues
There are many physical health factors associated with developmental disabilities. For some specific syndromes and diagnoses, these are inherent (such as poor heart function in people with Down syndrome); however lack of access to health services and lack of understanding by medical professionals is also a major contributing factor. People with severe communication difficulties find it difficult to articulate their health needs, and without adequate support and education might not recognise ill health. Epilepsy, sensory problems (such as poor vision and hearing), obesity and poor dental health are over-represented in this population.[4] Life expectancy among people with developmental disabilities as a group is estimated at 20 years below average, although this is improving with advancements in adaptive and medical technologies, and as people are leading healthier, more fulfilling lives,[5] and some specific diagnoses (such as Freeman-Sheldon syndrome) do not impact on life expectancy.
[edit] Mental health issues (dual diagnoses)
Mental health issues, and psychiatric illnesses, are more likely to occur in people with developmental disabilities than in the general population. A number of factors are attributed to the high incidence rate of dual diagnoses:
• the high likelihood of encountering traumatic events throughout their lifetime (such as abandonment by loved ones, abuse, bullying and harassment)
• the social restrictions placed upon people with developmental disabilities (such as lack of education, poverty, limited employment opportunities, limited opportunities for fulfilling relationships, boredom)
• biological factors (such as brain injury, epilepsy, illicit and prescribed drug and alcohol misuse)
• developmental factors (such as lack of understanding of social norms and appropriate behaviour, inability of those around to allow/ understand expressions of grief and other human emotions)
• External monitoring factor: all people with developmental disabilities that are in a Federal or State funded residence require the residence to have some form of behavioral monitoring for each person with developmental disability at the residence. With this information psychological diagnosis are more easily given than with the general population that has less consistent monitoring.
• Access to health care providers: in the USA, all people with developmental disabilities that are in a Federal or State funded residence require the residence to have annual visits to various health care providers (nurse, physician, psychologist, psychiatrist, etc.) With consistent visits to health care providers more people with developmental disabilities are likely to receive appropriate treatment than the general population that is not required to visit various health care providers.

These problems are exacerbated by difficulties in diagnosis of mental health issues, and in appropriate treatment and medication, as for physical health issues..[6][7]
[edit] Abuse and vulnerability
Abuse is a significant issue for people with developmental disabilities, and as a group they are regarded as vulnerable people in most jurisdictions. Common types of abuse include:
• Physical abuse (withholding food, hitting, punching, pushing, etc.)
• Neglect (withholding help when required, e.g., assistance with personal hygiene)
• Sexual abuse
• Psychological or emotional abuse (verbal abuse, shaming and belittling)
• Constraint and restrictive practices (turning off an electric wheelchair so a person cannot move)
• Financial abuse (charging unnecessary fees, holding onto pensions, wages, etc.)
• Legal or civil abuse (restricted access to services)
• Systemic abuse (denied access to an appropriate service due to perceived support needs)
• Passive neglect (a caregiver’s failure to provide adequate food, shelter)
Lack of education, lack of self-esteem and self-advocacy skills, lack of understanding of social norms and appropriate behaviour and communication difficulties are strong contributing factors to the high incidence of abuse among this population.
In addition to abuse from people in positions of power, peer abuse is recognised as a significant, if misunderstood, problem. Rates of criminal offending among people with developmental disabilities are also disproportionately high, and it is widely acknowledged that criminal justice systems throughout the world are ill-equipped for the needs of people with developmental disabilities (as both perpetrators and victims of crime)[8][9][10].
[edit] Challenging behaviour
See main article: Challenging behaviour
Some people with developmental disabilities exhibit challenging behaviour, defined as "culturally abnormal behaviour(s) of such intensity, frequency or duration that the physical safety of the person or others is placed in serious jeopardy, or behaviour which is likely to seriously limit or deny access to the use of ordinary community facilities"[11]. Common types of challenging behaviour include self-injurious behaviour (such as hitting, headbutting, biting), aggressive behaviour (such as hitting others, screaming, spitting, kicking), inappropriate sexualised behaviour (such as public masturbation or groping), behaviour directed at property (such as throwing objects and stealing) and stereotyped behaviours (such as repetitive rocking, echolalia or elective incontinence).
Challenging behaviour in people with developmental disabilities may be caused by a number of factors, including biological (pain, medication, the need for sensory stimulation), social (boredom, seeking social interaction, the need for an element of control, lack of knowledge of community norms, insensitivity of staff and services to the person's wishes and needs), environmental (physical aspects such as noise and lighting, or gaining access to preferred objects or activities), psychological (feeling excluded, lonely, devalued, labelled, disempowered, living up to people's negative expectations) or simply a means of communication. A lot of the time, challenging behaviour is learned and brings rewards and it is very often possible to teach people new behaviours to achieve the same aims.
Experience and research suggests that what professionals call 'challenging behaviour' is often a reaction to the challenging environments that those providing services create around people with developmental disabilities. 'Challenging behaviour' in this context is a method of communicating dissatisfaction with the failure of those providing services to focus on what kind of life makes most sense to the person, and is often the only recourse a developmentally disabled person has against unsatisfactory services or treatment and the lack of opportunities made available to the person. This is especially the case where the services deliver lifestyles and ways of working that are centred on what suits the service provider and its staff, rather than what best suits the person.
[edit] Societal attitudes towards developmental disabilities
Throughout history, people with developmental disabilities have been viewed as incapable and incompetent in their capacity for decision-making and development. Until the Enlightenment in Europe, care and asylum was provided by families and the church (in monasteries and other religious communities), focusing on the provision of basic physical needs such as food, shelter and clothing. Stereotypes such as the dimwitted yokel, and potentially harmful characterisations (such as demonic possession for people with epilepsy) were prominent in social attitudes of the time.
The movement towards individualism in the 18th and 19th centuries, and the opportunities afforded by the Industrial Revolution, led to housing and care using the asylum model. People were placed by, or removed from, their families (usually in infancy) and housed in large institutions (of up to 3,000 people, although some institutions were home to many more, such as the Philadelphia State Hospital in Pennsylvania which housed 7,000 people through the 1960s), many of which were self-sufficient through the labour of the residents. Some of these institutions provided a very basic level of education (such as differentiation between colours and basic word recognition and numeracy), but most continued to focus solely on the provision of basic needs. Conditions in such institutions varied widely, but the support provided was generally non-individualised, with aberrant behaviour and low levels of economic productivity regarded as a burden to society. Heavy tranquilisation and assembly line methods of support (such as 'birdfeeding' and cattle herding) were the norm, and the medical model of disability prevailed. Services were provided based on the relative ease to the provider, not based on the human needs of the individual.
Ignoring the prevailing attitude, Civitans adopted service to the developmentally disabled as a major organizational emphasis in 1952. Their earliest efforts included workshops for special education teachers and daycamps for disabled children, all at a time when such training and programs were almost nonexistent.[12] The segregation of people with developmental disabilities wasn't widely questioned by academics or policy-makers until the 1969 publication of Wolf Wolfensberger's seminal work "The Origin and Nature of Our Institutional Models",[13] drawing on some of the ideas proposed by SG Howe a hundred years earlier. This book posited that society characterises people with disabilities as deviant, sub-human and burdens of charity, resulting in the adoption of that 'deviant' role. Wolfensberger argued that this dehumanisation, and the segregated institutions that result from it, ignored the potential productive contributions that all people can make to society. He pushed for a shift in policy and practice that recognised the human needs of "retardates" and provided the same basic human rights as for the rest of the population.
The publication of this book may be regarded as the first move towards the widespread adoption of the social model of disability in regard to these types of disabilities, and was the impetus for the development of government strategies for desegregation. Successful lawsuits against governments and an increasing awareness of human rights and self-advocacy also contributed to this process, resulting in the passing in the US of the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act in 1980.
From the 1960s to the present, most states have moved towards the elimination of segregated institutions. Along with the work Wolfensberger and others including Gunnar and Rosemary Dybwad,[14] a number of scandalous revelations around the horrific conditions within state institutions created public outrage led to change to a more community-based method of providing services.[15] By the mid-1970s, most governments had committed to de-institutionalisation, and had started preparing for the wholesale movement of people into the general community, in line with the principles of normalization. In most countries, this was essentially complete by the late 1990s, although the debate over whether or not to close institutions persists in some states, including Massachusetts.[16]
It could be argued that we still have a very long way to go before people with such disabilities are seen as full citizens of society. Person Centred Planning and Person Centred Approaches are seen as methods of addressing the continued labelling and exclusion of socially devalued people, such as people with a developmental disability label, encouraging a focus on the person as someone with capacities and gifts, as well as support needs.
[edit] Services and support
Today, support services are provided by government agencies (such as MRDD), non-governmental organizations and by private sector providers. Support services address most aspects of life for people with developmental disabilities, and are usually theoretically based in community inclusion, using concepts such as social role ovalorization and increased self-determination (using models such as Person Centred Planning). Support services are funded through government block funding (paid directly to service providers by the government), through individualised funding packages (paid directly to the individual by the government, specifically for the purchase of services) or privately by the individual (although they may receive certain subsidies or discounts, paid by the government). There also are a number of non-profit agencies dedicated to enriching the lives of people living with developmental disabilities and erasing the barriers they have to being included in their community.[17]
[edit] Education and training
See main article: Special education
Education and training opportunities for people with developmental disabilities have expanded greatly in recent times, with many governments mandating universal access to educational facilities, and more students moving out of special schools and into mainstream classrooms with support.
Post-secondary education and vocational training is also increasing for people with these types of disabilities, although many programs offer only segregated "access" courses in areas such as literacy, numeracy and other basic skills. Legislation (such as the UK's Disability Discrimination Act 1995) requires educational institutions and training providers to make 'reasonable adjustments' to curriculum and teaching methods in order to accommodate the learning needs of students with disabilities, wherever possible. There are also some vocational training centers that cater specifically to people with disabilities, providing the skills necessary to work in integrated settings, one of the largest being Dale Rogers Training Center in Oklahoma City. See also Intensive interaction.
[edit] At-home and community support
Many people with developmental disabilities live in the general community, either with family members, in supervised-group homes or in their own homes (that they rent or own, living alone or with flatmates). At-home and community supports range from one-to-one assistance from a support worker with identified aspects of daily living (such as budgeting, shopping or paying bills) to full 24-hour support (including assistance with household tasks, such as cooking and cleaning, and personal care such as showering, dressing and the administration of medication). The need for full 24-hour support is usually associated with difficulties recognising safety issues (such as responding to a fire or using a telephone) or for people with potentially dangerous medical conditions (such as asthma or diabetes) who are unable to manage their conditions without assistance.
In the United States a support worker is known as a Direct Support Professional (DSP). The DSP works in assisting the individual with their ADLs and also acts as an advocate for the individual with a developmental disability, in communicating their needs, self expression and goals.
Supports of this type also include assistance to identify and undertake new hobbies or to access community services (such as education), learning appropriate behaviour or recognition of community norms, or with relationships and expanding circles of friends. Most programs offering at-home and community support are designed with the goal of increasing the individual's independence, although it is recognised that people with more severe disabilities may never be able to achieve full independence in some areas of daily life.
[edit] Residential accommodation
Some people with developmental disabilities live in residential accommodation (also known as group homes) with other people with similar assessed needs. These homes are usually staffed around the clock, and usually house between 3 and 15 residents. The prevalence of this type of support is gradually decreasing, however, as residential accommodation is replaced by at-home and community support, which can offer increased choice and self-determination for individuals. Some U.S. states still provide institutional care, such as the Texas State Schools.[18]
[edit] Employment support
Employment support usually consists of two types of support:
• Support to access or participate in integrated employment, in a workplace in the general community. This may include specific programs to increase the skills needed for successful employment (work preparation), one-to-one or small group support for on-the-job training, or one-to-one or small group support after a transition period (such as advocacy when dealing with an employer or a bullying colleague, or assistance to complete an application for a promotion).
• The provision of specific employment opportunities within segregated business services. Although these are designed as 'transitional' services (teaching work skills needed to move into integrated employment), many people remain in such services for the duration of their working life. The types of work performed in business services include mailing and packaging services, cleaning, gardening and landscaping, timberwork, metal fabrication, farming and sewing.
Workers with developmental disabilities have historically been paid less for their labour than those in the general workforce, although this is gradually changing with government initiatives, the enforcement of anti-discrimination legislation and changes in perceptions of capability in the general community.
[edit] Day services
Non-vocational day services are usually known as day centres, and are traditionally segregated services offering training in life skills (such as meal preparation and basic literacy), centre-based activities (such as craft, games and music classes) and external activities (such as day trips). Some more progressive day centres also support people to access vocational training opportunities (such as college courses), and offer individualised outreach services (planning and undertaking activities with the individual, with support offered one-to-one or in small groups).
Traditional day centres were based on the principles of occupational therapy, and were created as respite for family members caring for their loved ones with disabilities. This is slowly changing, however, as programs offered become more skills-based and focused on increasing independence.
[edit] Advocacy
Advocacy is a burgeoning support field for people with developmental disabilities. Advocacy groups now exist in most jurisdictions, working collaboratively with people with disabilities for systemic change (such as changes in policy and legislation) and for changes for individuals (such as claiming welfare benefits or when responding to abuse). Most advocacy groups also work to support people, throughout the world, to increase their capacity for self-advocacy, teaching the skills necessary for people to advocate for their own needs.
[edit] Other types of support
Other types of support for people with developmental disabilities may include:
• therapeutic services, such as speech therapy, massage, aromatherapy, or drama or music therapy
• supported holidays
• short-stay respite services (for people who live with family members or other unpaid carers)
• transport services, such as dial-a-ride or free bus passes
• specialist behaviour support services, such as high-security services for people with high-level, high-risk challenging behaviours
• specialist relationships and sex education services

System dynamics is an approach to understanding the behaviour of complex systems over time. It deals with internal feedback loops and time delays that affect the behaviour of the entire system.[1] What makes using system dynamics different from other approaches to studying complex systems is the use of feedback loops and stocks and flows. These elements help describe how even seemingly simple systems display baffling nonlinearity.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 Overview
• 2 History
• 3 Topics in systems dynamics
o 3.1 Causal loop diagrams
o 3.2 Stock and flow diagrams
o 3.3 Equations
o 3.4 Dynamic simulation results
• 4 Application
o 4.1 Example
o 4.2 Example of 4D piston motion
• 5 See also
• 6 References
• 7 Further reading
• 8 External links

[edit] Overview
System dynamics is a methodology and computer simulation modeling technique for framing, understanding, and discussing complex issues and problems. Originally developed in the 1950s to help corporate managers improve their understanding of industrial processes, system dynamics is currently being used throughout the public and private sector for policy analysis and design.[2]
System dynamics is an aspect of systems theory as a method for understanding the dynamic behavior of complex systems. The basis of the method is the recognition that the structure of any system — the many circular, interlocking, sometimes time-delayed relationships among its components — is often just as important in determining its behavior as the individual components themselves. Examples are chaos theory and social dynamics. It is also claimed that because there are often properties-of-the-whole which cannot be found among the properties-of-the-elements, in some cases the behavior of the whole cannot be explained in terms of the behavior of the parts.

System Archetypes are patterns of behavior of a system. Systems expressed by circles of causality have therefore similar structure. Identifying a system archetype and finding the leverage enables efficient changes in a system. The basic system archetypes and possible solutions of the problems are mentioned in #Examples of system archetypes. [1]
Contents
[hide]
• 1 Circles of causality
• 2 Reinforcing feedback (+)
• 3 Balancing feedback (-)
• 4 Delays
• 5 Examples of system archetypes
o 5.1 Balancing process with delay
o 5.2 Limits to growth
o 5.3 Shifting the burden
o 5.4 Eroding goals
o 5.5 Escalation
o 5.6 Success to successful
o 5.7 Tragedy of the commons
o 5.8 Fixes that fail
o 5.9 Growth and underinvestment
• 6 See also
• 7 References
• 8 External links

[edit] Circles of causality
The basic idea of system thinking is that every action triggers a reaction. In system dynamics this reaction is called feedback. There are two types of feedback - reinforcing feedback and balancing feedback. Sometimes a feedback (or a reaction) does not occur immediately - the process contains delays. Any system can be drawn as a diagram set up with circles of causality – including actions, feedbacks and delays. [1]
[edit] Reinforcing feedback (+)
Reinforcing feedback (or amplifying feedback) accelerates the given trend of a process. If the trend is ascending, the reinforcing (positive) feedback will accelerate the growth. If the trend is descending, it will accelerate the decline. Falling of an avalanche is an example of the reinforcing feedback process. [1]
[edit] Balancing feedback (-)
Balancing feedback (or stabilizing feedback) will work if any goal-state exists. Balancing process intends to reduce a gap between a current state and a desired state. The balancing (negative) feedback adjusts a present state to a desirable target regardless whether the trend is descending or ascending. An example of the balancing feedback process is staying upright on bicycle (when riding). [1]
[edit] Delays
Delays in systems cause people to perceive a response to an action incorrectly. This causes an under- or overestimation of the needed action and results in oscillation, instability or even breakdown. [1]

The disability rights movement aims to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities and to confront the disadvantages and discrimination that they face. The goals and demands of the movement are bifurcated. One major concern is achieving civil rights for the disabled. This is further broken down into issues of accessibility in transportation, architecture, and the physical environment and equal opportunities in employment, education, and housing.[1] Effective civil rights legislation is sought in order to eliminate exclusionary practice.[2]
For people with physical disabilities accessibility and safety are primary issues that this movement works to reform. Access to public areas such as city streets and public buildings and restrooms are some of the more visible changes brought about in recent decades. A noticeable change in some parts of the world is the installation of elevators, transit lifts, wheelchair ramps and curb cuts, allowing people in wheelchairs and with other mobility impairments to use public sidewalks and public transit more easily and more safely. These improvements have also been appreciated by parents pushing strollers or carts, bicycle users, and travelers with rolling luggage.
Access to education and employment have also been a major focus of this movement. Adaptive technologies, enabling people to work jobs they could not have previously, help create access to jobs and economic independence. Access in the classroom has helped improve education opportunities and independence for people with disabilities
The second concern of the movement deals with lifestyle, self-determination, and an individual’s ability to live independently.[1] The right to have an independent life as an adult, sometimes using paid assistant care instead of being institutionalized, is another major goal of this movement, and is the main goal of the similar independent living and self-advocacy movements, which are more strongly associated with people with intellectual disabilities and mental health disorders. These movements have supported people with disabilities to live as more active participants in society.[3]

As a result of the work done through the Disability Rights Movement, significant legislation was passed in the 1970s through the 1990s.[4]
Assistive technology (AT) is a generic term that includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities and includes the process used in selecting, locating, and using them.
The Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1988 (US Public Law 100-407) states that it is "technology designed to be utilized in an assistive technology device or assistive technology service."
AT promotes greater independence by enabling people to perform tasks that they were formerly unable to accomplish, or had great difficulty accomplishing, by providing enhancements to or changed methods of interacting with the technology needed to accomplish such tasks.
Likewise, disability advocates point out that technology is often created without regard to people with disabilities, creating unnecessary barriers to hundreds of millions of people.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 Assistive technology and universal accessibility
• 2 Assistive technology products
o 2.1 Personal Emergency Response Systems
o 2.2 Accessible computer input
o 2.3 Durable Medical Equipment (DME)
o 2.4 Learning difficulties
o 2.5 Visual impairment
 2.5.1 Hardware
 2.5.2 Software
o 2.6 Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
o 2.7 Deafness and hearing loss
o 2.8 Others
• 3 See also
• 4 References
• 5 Further reading

[edit] Assistive technology and universal accessibility


Universally Accessible Street Cross at Evanston, Illinois
Universal (or broadened) accessibility, or universal design means greater usability, particularly for people with disabilities.
Universally accessible technology yields great rewards to the typical user as well; good accessible design is universal design. One example is the "curb cuts" (or dropped curbs) in the sidewalk at street crossings. While these curb cuts enable pedestrians with mobility impairments to cross the street, they also aid parents with carriages and strollers, shoppers with carts, and travellers and workers with pull-type bags.
As an example, the modern telephone is inaccessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Combined with a text telephone (also known as a TDD Telecommunications device for the deaf and in the USA generally called a TTY[TeleTYpewriter]), which converts typed characters into tones that may be sent over the telephone line, a deaf person is able to communicate immediately at a distance. Together with "relay" services, in which an operator reads what the deaf person types and types what a hearing person says, the deaf person is then given access to everyone's telephone, not just those of people who possess text telephones. Many telephones now have volume controls, which are primarily intended for the benefit of people who are hard of hearing, but can be useful for all users at times and places where there is significant background noise. Some have larger keys well-spaced to facilitate accurate dialing.
Also, a person with a mobility impairment can have difficulty using calculators. Speech recognition software recognizes short commands and makes use of calculators easier.
People with learning disabilities like dyslexia or dysgraphia are using text-to-speech (TTS) software for reading and spelling programs for assistance in writing texts.
Computers with their peripheral devices, editing, spellchecking and speech synthesis software are becoming the core-stones of the assistive technologies coming for relief to the people with learning disabilities and to the people with visual impairments. The assisting spelling programs and voice facilities are bringing better and more convenient text reading and writing experience to the general public.
Toys which have been adapted to be used by children with disabilities may have advantages for non-disabled children as well. The Lekotek movement assists parents by lending assistive technology toys and expertise to families.
The following professionals may be certified by RESNA (RESNA.org) to serve the assistive technology needs of individuals: occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech language pathologists/audiologists, orthotists and prosthetists, educators, and a variety of other rehabilitation and health professionals.
[edit] Assistive technology products
[edit] Personal Emergency Response Systems
Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS), or Telecare (UK term), are a particular sort of assistive technology that use electronic sensors connected to an alarm system to help caregivers manage risk and help vulnerable people stay independent at home longer. An example would be the systems being put in place for senior people such as fall detectors, thermometers (for hypothermia risk), flooding and unlit gas sensors (for people with mild dementia). Notably, these alerts can be customized to the particular person's risks. When the alert is triggered, a message is sent to a carer or contact centre who can respond appropriately.
Technology similar to PERS can also be used to act within a person's home rather than just to respond to a detected crisis. Using one of the examples above, gas sensors for people with dementia can be used to trigger a device that turns off the gas and tells someone what has happened.
Designing for people with dementia is a good example of how the design of the interface of a piece of AT is critical to its usefulness. People with dementia or any other identified user group must be involved in the design process to make sure that the design is accessible and usable. In the example above, a voice message could be used to remind the person with dementia to turn off the gas himself, but whose voice should be used, and what should the message say? Questions like these must be answered through user consultation, involvement and evaluation.
[edit] Accessible computer input
Sitting at a desk with a QWERTY keyboard and a mouse remains the dominant way of interacting with a personal computer. Some Assistive Technology reduces the strain of this way of work through ergonomic accessories with height-adjustable furniture, footrests, wrist rests, and arm supports to ensure correct posture. Keyguards fit over the keyboard to help prevent unintentional keypresses.
Alternatively, Assistive Technology may attempt to improve the ergonomics of the devices themselves:
• Ergonomic keyboards reduce the discomfort and strain of typing.
• Chorded keyboards have a handful of keys (one per digit per hand) to type by 'chords' which produce different letters and keys.
• Expanded keyboards with larger, more widely-spaced keys.
• Compact and miniature keyboards.
• Dvorak and other alternative layouts may offer more ergonomic layouts of the keys[citation needed]. There are also variants of Dvorak in which the most common keys are located at either the left or right side of the keyboard.
Input devices may be modified to make them easier to see and understand:
• Keyboards with lowercase keys
• Keyboards with big keys.
• Keyboards with less and big keys, or multifunctional keys, such us the special keyboard PiTech, with only five big rounded keys, which is used with a special software for writing[1]
• Large print keyboard with high contrast colors (such as white on black, black on white, and black on ivory).
• Large print adhesive keyboard stickers in high contrast colors (such as white on black, black on white, and black on yellow).
• Embossed locator dots help find the 'home' keys, F and J, on the keyboard.
• Scroll wheels on mice remove the need to locate the scrolling interface on the computer screen.
• Footmouse - Foot-operated mouse.
More ambitiously, and quite crucially when keyboard or mouse prove unusable, AT can also replace the keyboard and mouse with alternative devices such as the LOMAK keyboard, trackballs, joysticks, graphics tablets, touchpads, touch screens, foot mice, a microphone with speech recognition software, sip-and-puff input, switch access, and vision-based input devices, such as eye trackers which allow the user to control the mouse with their eyes.
Software can also make input devices easier to use:
• Keyboard shortcuts and MouseKeys allow the user to substitute keyboarding for mouse actions. Macro recorders can greatly extend the range and sophistication of keyboard shortcuts.
• Sticky keys allows characters or commands to be typed without having to hold down a modifier key (Shift, Ctrl, Alt) while pressing a second key. Similarly, ClickLock is a Microsoft Windows feature that remembers a mouse button is down so that items can be highlighted or dragged without holding the mouse button down throughout.
• Customization of mouse or mouse alternatives' responsiveness to movement, double-clicking, and so forth.
• ToggleKeys is a feature of Microsoft Windows 95 onwards. A high sound is heard when the CAPS LOCK, SCROLL LOCK, or NUM LOCK key is switched on and a low sound is heard when any of those keys are switched off.
• Customization of pointer appearance, such as size, color and shape.
• Predictive text
• Spell checkers and grammar checkers
[edit] Durable Medical Equipment (DME)
• Seating products that assist people to sit comfortably and safely (seating systems, cushions, therapeutic seats).
• Standing products to support people with disabilities in the standing position while maintaining/improving their health (standing frame, standing wheelchair, active stander).
• Walking products to aid people with disabilities who are able to walk or stand with assistance (canes, crutches, walkers, gait trainers).
• Advanced technology walking products to aid people with disabilities, such as paraplegia or cerebral palsy, who would not at all able to walk or stand (exoskeletons).
• Wheeled mobility products that enable people with reduced mobility to move freely indoors and outdoors (wheelchairs/scooters)
• Vehicles modified with Height adjustable suspension, to allow wheelchair entry to the vehicle
• Robot-aided rehabilitation is a sensory-motor rehabilitation technique based on the use of robots and mechatronic devices
[edit] Learning difficulties
• Age-appropriate software
• Cause and effect software[2]
• Hand-eye co-ordination skills software
• Diagnostic assessment software
• Mind mapping software
• Study skills software
• Symbol-based software[3]
• Text-to-speech
• Touch typing software
[edit] Visual impairment
Choice of appropriate hardware and software will depend on the user's level of functional vision.
• RIAS (Remote Infrared Audible Signage) has the potential to help both low vision and the blind navigate outside and indoors.
[edit] Hardware
• Large monitors.
• Adjustable task lamp, using a fluorescent bulb, shines directly onto the paper and can be adjusted to suit.
• Bank note reader
• Copyholder holds printed material in near vertical position for easier reading and can be adjusted to suit.
• Closed circuit television (CCTV) or video magnifiers. Printed materials and objects are placed under a camera and the magnified image is displayed onto a screen.
• Modified cassette recorder. To record a lecture, own thoughts, ideas, notes etc.
• Desktop compact cassette dictation system. To allow audio cassette playback with the aid of a foot pedal.
• Fusers produce tactile materials, for example diagrams and maps, by applying heat to special swell paper.
• Scanner. A device used in conjunction with OCR software. The printed document is scanned and converted into electronic text, which can then be displayed on screen as recognisable text.
• Standalone reading aids integrate a scanner, optical character recognition (OCR) software, and speech software in a single machine. These function together without a separate PC.[4]
• Refreshable Braille display. An electronic tactile device which is placed below the computer keyboard. A line of cells which correspond to Braille text move up and down to represent a line of text on the computer screen.
• Electronic Notetaker. A portable computer with a Braille or QWERTY keyboard and synthetic speech. Some models have an integrated Braille display.
• Braille embosser. Embosses Braille output from a computer by punching dots onto paper. It connects to a computer in the same way as a text printer.
• Perkins Brailler. To manually emboss Grade 1 or 2 Braille.
• Mountbatten Brailler. An electric braille writing machine.
[edit] Software
• Customization of graphical user interfaces to alter the colors and size of desktops, short-cut icons, menu bars and scroll bars.
• Screen magnifiers
• Screen readers
• Self-voicing applications
• Optical character recognition. Converts the printed word into text, via a scanner.
• Braille translation. Converts the printed word into Braille, which can then be embossed via a Braille embosser.
• Text-to-speech and Speech-to-text
• Spell checkers and Grammar checkers
[edit] Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
Augmentative and alternative communication is a well defined specialty within AT. It involves ways of communication that either enhance or replace verbal language. When combined with Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) teaching methods, AAC has improved communication skills in children with Autism. AAC devices vary widely with respect to their technological sophistication:
• Low-tech systems. Simple paper or object based systems, i.e. do not require a battery (e.g., Talking Mats, Dry Erase Boards, Clipboards, 3-Ring Binders, Manila File Folders, Photo Albums, Laminated PCS/Photographs, Highlight tape).
• Light-tech systems. Typically consisting of a digitized speech recorder with a touch-sensitive display pad and sometimes switch access. Lite-tech systems require a battery (e.g., Tape Recorder, Language Master, Overhead Projector, Timers, Calculators).
• High-tech systems. Computerized VOCAs that vary from single purpose appliance-like systems to multipurpose computer-based communication aids. Typically high-tech systems require training and ongoing support to operate the devices (e.g., Video Cameras, Computers and Adaptive Hardware, Complex Voice Output Devices).
[edit] Deafness and hearing loss
• Audiometer
• Fire alarm paging system
• Loop system (portable and fixed)
• Radio aids
• Telecommunications device for the deaf
• Teletext
• Video cassette recorders that can read and record subtitles (Closed Captioning).
• Vibrating fire alarm placed under pillow when asleep.
• Door bell lighting system.
[edit] Others
• Wakamaru provides companionship, reminds users to take medicine and calls for help if something is wrong.
• Telephone Reassurance: community based program that calls seniors at home ensuring their well-being.[5]
• Cosmobot is part of a play therapy system designed to motivate children to participate in therapy.
• General User Interface for Disorders of Execution (GUIDE) is an interactive verbal prompting system that talks people with cognitive impairment through daily routine tasks.[6]
Disability
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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"Disabled" redirects here. For the poem by Wilfred Owen, see Disabled (poem).
"Disabilities" redirects here. For the Middle Age restrictions, see Disabilities (Jewish).

The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (October 2009)


International Symbol of Access
The World Health Organization defines Disability as follows: "Disabilities is an umbrella term, covering impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions. An impairment is a problem in body function or structure; an activity limitation is a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a task or action; while a participation restriction is a problem experienced by an individual in involvement in life situations. Thus disability is a complex phenomenon, reflecting an interaction between features of a person’s body and features of the society in which he or she lives.'"[1]
An individual may also qualify as disabled if he/she has had an impairment in the past or is seen as disabled based on a personal or group standard or norm. Such impairments may include physical, sensory, and cognitive or developmental disabilities. Mental disorders (also known as psychiatric or psychosocial disability) and various types of chronic disease may also be considered qualifying disabilities.
A disability may occur during a person's lifetime or may be present from birth. A physical impairment is any disability which limits the physical function of limbs or fine or gross motor ability.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 Current issues
• 2 Disability rights movement
• 3 Definitions and models
o 3.1 The medical model
o 3.2 The social model
o 3.3 Other models
• 4 Terminology
o 4.1 Handicap
o 4.2 People First Language
o 4.3 Literature
 4.3.1 Masculinity
 4.3.2 Femininity
• 5 Government policies and support
o 5.1 United Nations
o 5.2 Costa Rica
o 5.3 United Kingdom
 5.3.1 Employment
o 5.4 United States
 5.4.1 Discrimination in employment
 5.4.2 African Americans and disability
 5.4.3 Social administration
 5.4.4 Education
 5.4.5 Insurance
• 6 Demographics
o 6.1 Difficulties in measuring
o 6.2 Estimates worldwide
• 7 Disability insurance—nationalized and private
• 8 Adaptations
o 8.1 Assistive technology
o 8.2 Adapted sports
o 8.3 Accessible computing
• 9 See also
• 10 Notes
• 11 References
• 12 Further reading
• 13 External links

[edit] Current issues
Current issues and debates surrounding disability include social and political rights, social inclusion and citizenship. In developed countries, the debate has moved beyond a concern about the perceived cost of maintaining dependent people with disabilities to an effort of finding effective ways to ensure that people with disabilities can participate in and contribute to society in all spheres of life.
Many are concerned, however, that the greatest need is in developing nations—where the vast bulk of the estimated 650 million people with disabilities reside. A great deal of work is needed to address concerns ranging from accessibility and education to self-empowerment and self-supporting employment and beyond.
In the past few years, disability rights activists have also focused on obtaining full citizenship for the disabled.
However obstacles reside in some countries in getting full employment, also public perception of disabled people may vary in areas.
[edit] Disability rights movement
The disability rights movement, led by individuals with disabilities, began in the 1970s. This self-advocacy is often seen as largely responsible for the shift toward independent living and accessibility. The term "Independent Living" was taken from 1959 California legislation which enabled people who had acquired a disability due to polio to leave hospital wards and move back into the community with the help of cash benefits for the purchase of personal assistance with the activities of daily living.
With its origins in the U.S. civil rights and consumer movements of the late 1960s, the movement and its philosophy have since spread to other continents influencing self-perception, organization and social policy.
[edit] Definitions and models
The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), produced by the World Health Organization, distinguishes between body functions (physiological or psychological, e.g. vision) and body structures (anatomical parts, e.g. the eye and related structures). Impairment in bodily structure or function is defined as involving an anomaly, defect, loss or other significant deviation from certain generally accepted population standards, which may fluctuate over time. Activity is defined as the execution of a task or action. The ICF lists 9 broad domains of functioning which can be affected:
• Learning and applying knowledge
• General tasks and demands
• Communication
• Mobility
• Self-care
• Domestic life
• Interpersonal interactions and relationships
• Major life areas
• Community, social and civic life
(see also List of mental disorders)
In concert with disability scholars, the introduction to the ICF states that a variety of conceptual models has been proposed to understand and explain disability and functioning, which it seeks to integrate. These models include the following:
[edit] The medical model
Main article: Medical model of disability
The medical model is presented as viewing disability as a problem of the person, directly caused by disease, trauma, or other health condition which therefore requires sustained medical care provided in the form of individual treatment by professionals. In the medical model, management of the disability is aimed at a "cure," or the individual’s adjustment and behavioral change that would lead to an "almost-cure" or effective cure. In the medical model, medical care is viewed as the main issue, and at the political level, the principal response is that of modifying or reforming healthcare policy.
[edit] The social model
Main article: Social model of disability
The social model of disability sees the issue of "disability" as a socially created problem and a matter of the full integration of individuals into society (see Inclusion (disability rights)). In this model, disability is not an attribute of an individual, but rather a complex collection of conditions, many of which are created by the social environment. Hence, the management of the problem requires social action and is the collective responsibility of society at large to make the environmental modifications necessary for the full participation of people with disabilities in all areas of social life. The issue is both cultural and ideological, requiring individual, community, and large-scale social change. From this perspective, equal access for someone with an impairment/disability is a human rights issue of major concern.
[edit] Other models
• The spectrum model refers to the range of visibility, audibility and sensibility under which mankind functions. The model asserts that disability does not necessarily mean reduced spectrum of operations.
• The moral model (Bowe, 1978) refers to the attitude that people are morally responsible for their own disability. For example, the disability may be seen as a result of bad actions of parents if congenital, or as a result of practising witchcraft if not. This attitude may also be viewed as a religious fundamentalist offshoot of the original animal roots of human beings when humans killed any baby that could not survive on its own in the wild. Echoes of this can be seen in the doctrine of karma in Indian religions.
• The expert/professional model has provided a traditional response to disability issues and can be seen as an offshoot of the medical model. Within its framework, professionals follow a process of identifying the impairment and its limitations (using the medical model), and taking the necessary action to improve the position of the disabled person. This has tended to produce a system in which an authoritarian, over-active service provider prescribes and acts for a passive client.
• The tragedy/charity model depicts disabled people as victims of circumstance who are deserving of pity. This, along with the medical model, are the models most used by non-disabled people to define and explain disability.
• The legitimacy model views disability as a value-based determination about which explanations for the atypical are legitimate for membership in the disability category. This viewpoint allows for multiple explanations and models to be considered as purposive and viable (DePoy & Gilson, 2004) (Elizabeth DePoy & Stephen Gilson).
• The social adapted model states although a person’s disability poses some limitations in an able-bodied society, oftentimes the surrounding society and environment are more limiting than the disability itself.[2]
• The economic model defines disability by a person’s inability to participate in work. It also assesses the degree to which impairment affects an individual’s productivity and the economic consequences for the individual, employer and the state. Such consequences include loss of earnings for and payment for assistance by the individual; lower profit margins for the employer; and state welfare payments. This model is directly related to the charity/tragedy model.
• The empowering model allows for the person with a disability and his/her family to decide the course of their treatment and what services they wish to benefit from. This, in turn, turns the professional into a service provider whose role is to offer guidance and carry out the client’s decisions. In other words, this model “empowers” the individual to pursue his/her own goals.[2]
• The market model of disability is minority rights and consumerist model of disability that recognizing people with disabilities and their Stakeholders as representing a large group of consumers, employees and voters. This model looks to personal identity to define disability and empowers people to chart their own destiny in everyday life, with a particular focus on economic empowerment. By this model, based on US Census data, there are 1.2 billion people in the world who consider themselves to have a disability. An additional two billion people are considered Stakeholders in disability (family/friends/employers), and when combined to the number of people without disabilities, represents 53% of the population. This model states that, due to the size of the demographic, companies and governments will serve the desires, pushed by demand as the message becomes prevalent in the cultural mainstream.[3]
[edit] Terminology
[edit] Handicap
Some people with disabilities do not like the term "handicap" because of a belief that it originally meant someone who could not work and went begging with their cap in hand. This, however, appears to not be the true origin of the word. It originated in a lottery game known as Hand In Cap in the 1600s which involved players placing money in a cap. It moved later into horse racing where it meant bringing the strongest competitors back to the field by giving them extra weight to carry. In golf, it became the number of strokes a player could subtract from his score to give him a chance against better players, so a bigger handicap is actually an advantage in golf. Only in 1915 did it become a term to describe the disabled, when it was used to describe crippled children.[4]
[edit] People First Language
The American Psychological Association style guide states that, when identifying a person with an impairment, the person's name or pronoun should come first, and descriptions of the impairment/disability should be used so that the impairment is identified, but is not modifying the person. Improper examples are "a borderline", "a blind person", or "an autistic boy"; more acceptable terminology includes "a woman with Down syndrome" or "a man who has schizophrenia". It also states that a person's adaptive equipment should be described functionally as something that assists a person, not as something that limits a person, e.g. "a woman who uses a wheelchair" rather than "a woman in/confined to a wheelchair."
A similar kind of "people first" terminology is also used in the UK, but more often in the form "people with impairments" (e.g. "people with visual impairments"). However, in the UK, the term "disabled people" is generally preferred to "people with disabilities". It is argued under the social model that while someone's impairment (e.g. having a spinal cord injury) is an individual property, "disability" is something created by external societal factors such as a lack of wheelchair access to their workplace.[5] This distinction between the individual property of impairment and the social property of disability is central to the social model. The term "disabled people" as a political construction is also widely used by international organisations of disabled people, such as Disabled Peoples' International (DPI).
Many people with autism spectrum disorders do not like people first language, because they feel that autism is a part of their personality. In their opinion, to call someone a "person with an autism spectrum disorder" implies that the ASD is somehow separate from the core of the person, or is a transitory or curable condition. [1]
[edit] Literature
Many books on disability and disability rights point out that "disabled" is an identity that one is not necessarily born with, as disabilities are more often acquired than congenital. Some disability rights activists use an acronym TAB, "Temporarily Able-Bodied", as a reminder that many people will develop disabilities at some point in their lives due to accidents, illness (physical, mental or emotional), or late-emerging effects of genetics.
[edit] Masculinity
According author Daniel J. Wilson, the characteristics of masculinity include strength, activeness, speed, endurance, and courage. These characteristics are often challenged when faced with a disability and the boy or man must reshape what it means to be masculine. For example, rather than define "being a man" through what one can physically do, one must re-define it by how one faces the world with a disability and all the obstacles and stereotypes that come with the disability.[6]
In Leonard Kriegel's book, Flying Solo, he describes his fight with poliomyelitis and the process of accepting his disability in a world that values able-bodiedness. He writes, "I had to learn to be my own hero, my own role model -- which is another way of saying that I had to learn to live with neither heroes nor role models" (pg. 40).[7]
[edit] Femininity
Some note that women who are disabled, face what is called a "double disability", meaning they must not only deal with the stereotypes and challenges posed by femininity, but they must also deal with those posed by being disabled. Culture also tends to view women as fragile and weaker than men, stereotypes which are only heightened when the woman has a disability.[6]
According to the "Survey of Income and Program Participation", as described in the book Gendering Disability, 74 percent of women participants and 90 percent of men participants without disabilities were employed. In comparison, of those with a form of disability, 41 percent of women and 51 percent of men were employed. Furthermore, the nondisabled women participants were paid approximately $4.00 less per hour than the nondisabled men participants. With a disability, women were paid approximately $1.00 less than the nondisabled women participants and the men were paid approximately $2.00 less than the nondisabled men participants. As these results suggest, women without disabilities face societal hardships against men, but then add disability to the equation and the hardships increase.[6]
[edit] Government policies and support
[edit] United Nations
On December 13, 2006, the United Nations formally agreed on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the first human rights treaty of the 21st century, to protect and enhance the rights and opportunities of the world's estimated 650 million disabled people.[8] Countries that sign up to the convention will be required to adopt national laws, and remove old ones, so that persons with disabilities would, for example, have equal rights to education, employment, and cultural life; the right to own and inherit property; not be discriminated against in marriage, children, etc.; not be unwilling subjects in medical experiments.
In 1976, the United Nations launched its International Year for Disabled Persons (1981), later re-named the International Year of Disabled Persons. The UN Decade of Disabled Persons (1983–1993) featured a World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons. In 1979, Frank Bowe was the only person with a disability representing any country in the planning of IYDP-1981. Today, many countries have named representatives who are themselves individuals with disabilities. The decade was closed in an address before the General Assembly by Robert Davila. Both Bowe and Davila are deaf. In 1984, UNESCO accepted sign language for use in education of deaf children and youth.
[edit] Costa Rica
Under the Ley de Igualdad de Oportunidades (Law of Equal Opportunities), no person can be discriminated by their disabilities if they are equally capable as another person. This law also promotes that public places and transport should have facilities that enable people with disabilities to access them.
May 28 is the Día Nacional de la Persona con Discapacidad (National Disabled People Day) to promote respect for these population.
Currently the political party Partido de Acceso Sin Exclusión (Access Without Exclusion Party) fights for the rights of disabled persons, and one congressman, Oscar López, who is blind.
[edit] United Kingdom
Under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) (1995, extended in 2005), it is unlawful for organisations to discriminate (treat a disabled person less favourably, for reasons related to the person's disability, without justification) in employment; access to goods, facilities, services; managing, buying or renting land or property; education. Businesses must make "reasonable adjustments" to their policies or practices, or physical aspects of their premises, to avoid indirect discrimination.[2]
A number of financial and care support services are available, including Incapacity Benefit and Disability Living Allowance [3].
[edit] Employment
The Employers' Forum on Disability (EFD) is a membership organisation of UK businesses. Following the introduction of the DDA the membership of EFD recognised the need for a tool with which they could measure their performance on disability year on year.
In 2005 80 organisations took part in the Disability Standard benchmark providing the first statistics highlighting the UK's performance as a nation of employers.
Following the success of the first benchmark Disability Standard 2007 saw the introduction of the Chief Executives' Diamond Awards for outstanding performance and 116 organisations taking the opportunity to compare trends across a large group of UK employers and monitor the progress they had made on disability.
2009 will see the third benchmark, Disability Standard 2009. EFD have promised that for the first time they will publish a list of the top ten performers who will be honoured at an award ceremony in December 2009.[9]
[edit] United States
[edit] Discrimination in employment
The US Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requires all organizations that receive government funding to provide accessibility programs and services. A more recent law, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), which came into effect in 1992, prohibits private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job training, or in the terms, conditions and privileges of employment. This includes organizations like retail businesses, movie theaters, and restaurants. They must make "reasonable accommodation" to people with different needs. Protection is extended to anyone with (A) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of an individual, (B) a record of such an impairment, or (C) being regarded as having such an impairment. The second and third criteria are seen as ensuring protection from unjust discrimination based on a perception of risk, just because someone has a record of impairment or appears to have a disability or illness (e.g. features which may be erroneously taken as signs of an illness).
[edit] African Americans and disability
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the African American community has the highest rate of disability at 20.8 percent,[10] slightly higher than the overall disability rate of 19.4%.[10] Although people have come to better understand and accept different types of disability, there still remains a stigma attached to the disabled community. African Americans with a disability are subject to not only this stigma but also to the additional forces of race discrimination. African American women who have a disability face tremendous discrimination due to their condition, race, and gender. Doctor Eddie Glenn of Howard University describes this situation as the "triple jeopardy" syndrome.[11]
[edit] Social administration
The US Social Security Administration defines disability in terms of inability to perform substantial gainful activity (SGA), by which it means “work paying minimum wage or better”. The agency pairs SGA with a "listing" of medical conditions that qualify individuals for benefits.
[edit] Education
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, special educational support is limited to children and youth falling into one of a dozen disability categories (e.g., specific learning disability) and adds that, to be eligible, students may require both special education (modified instruction) and related services (supports such as speech and language pathology).
[edit] Insurance
It is illegal for California insurers to refuse to provide car insurance to properly licensed drivers solely because they have a disability.[12] It is also illegal for them to refuse to provide car insurance "on the basis that the owner of the motor vehicle to be insured is blind," but they are allowed to exclude coverage for injuries and damages incurred while a blind unlicensed owner is actually operating the vehicle (the law is apparently structured to allow blind people to buy and insure cars which their friends, family, and caretakers can drive for them).[13]
[edit] Demographics
[edit] Difficulties in measuring
The demography of disability is difficult. Counting persons with disabilities is challenging. That is because disability is not just a status condition, entirely contained within the individual. Rather, it is an interaction between medical status (say, having low vision or being blind) and the environment.[citation needed]
[edit] Estimates worldwide
Estimates of worldwide and country-wide numbers of individuals with disabilities are problematic. The varying approaches taken to defining disability notwithstanding, demographers agree that the world population of individuals with disabilities is very large. For example, in 2004, the World Health Organization estimated a world population of 6.5 billion people, of those nearly 100 million people were estimated to be moderately or severely disabled.[14] In the United States, Americans with disabilities constitute the third-largest minority (after persons of Hispanic origin and African Americans); all three of those minority groups number in the 30-some millions in America.[14] According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, as of 2004, there were some 32 million disabled adults (aged 18 or over) in the United States, plus another 5 million children and youth (under age 18). If one were to add impairments—or limitations that fall short of being disabilities—Census estimates put the figure at 51 million.[15]
There is also widespread agreement among experts in the field that disability is more common in developing than in developed nations.
Nearly eight million men in Europe returned from the World War I permanently disabled by injury or disease.[16] The number of disabled U.S. veterans has jumped by 25% since 2001 — to 2.9 million.[17]
After years of war in Afghanistan, there are more than one million disabled people.[18] This is one of the highest percentages anywhere in the world.[19] An estimated 80,000 Afghans have lost limbs, mainly as a result of landmines.[20]
[edit] Disability insurance—nationalized and private
Disability benefit, or disability pension, is a major kind of disability insurance, and is provided by government agencies to people who are temporarily or permanently unable to work due to a disability. In the U.S., disability benefit is provided within the category of Supplemental Security Income, and in Canada, within the Canada Pension Plan. In other countries, disability benefit may be provided under Social security systems.
Costs of disability pensions are steadily growing in Western countries, mainly European and the United States. It was reported that in the UK, expenditure on disability pensions accounted for 0.9% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 1980, but two decades later had reached 2.6% of GDP.[21][22] Several studies have reported a link between increased absence from work due to sickness and elevated risk of future disability pension.[23]
A study by researchers in Denmark suggests that information on self-reported days of absence due to sickness can be used to effectively identify future potential groups for disability pension. [4] These studies may provide useful information for policy makers, case managing authorities, employers, and physicians.
Private, for-profit disability insurance plays a role in providing incomes to disabled people, but the nationalized programs are the safety net that catch most claimants.
[edit] Adaptations
[edit] Assistive technology


A hand-operated device allows normal driving for persons with leg disabilities in an automatic car.
Assistive Technology (AT) is a generic term for devices and modifications (for a person or within a society) that help overcome or remove a disability. The first recorded example of the use of a prosthesis dates to at least 1800 BC.[24]
A more recent notable example is the wheelchair, dating from the 17th century. The curb cut is a related structural innovation. Other modern examples are standing frames, text telephones, accessible keyboards, large print, Braille, & speech recognition computer software. People with disabilities often develop personal or community adaptations, such as strategies to suppress tics in public (for example in Tourette's syndrome), or sign language in deaf communities. Assistive technology or interventions are sometimes controversial or rejected, for example in the controversy over cochlear implants for children.
A number of symbols are in use to indicate whether certain accessibility adaptations have been made [5].
[edit] Adapted sports
Main article: Disabled sports


Wheelchair basketball at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
The Paralympic Games (meaning "alongside the Olympics") are now held after the (Summer and Winter) Olympics. The Paralympic Games include athletes who have a wide range of disabilities. In many countries, organizations exist to organize competition in the Paralympic sports on levels ranging from recreational to elite (for example, BlazeSports America in the United States).
In 2006, the Extremity Games was formed for people with physical disabilities, specifically limb loss or limb difference, to be able to compete in extreme sports. The College Park Industries, a manufacturer of prosthetic feet, organized this event to give disabled athletes a venue to compete in this increasingly popular sports genre also referred to as action sports. This annual event held in the summer in Orlando, FL includes competitions in skateboarding, wakeboarding, rock climbing, mountain biking, surfing, moto-x and kayaking. Non-profit organizations have created programs to advance adaptive sports for regular recreation and sport opportunities.
[edit] Accessible computing

This section requires expansion.

As the personal computer has become more ubiquitous, various organizations have formed to develop software and hardware to make computers more accessible for people with disabilities. Some software and hardware, such as SmartboxAT's The Grid, and Freedom Scientific's JAWS has been specifically designed for people with disabilities; other pieces of software and hardware, such as Nuance's Dragon NaturallySpeaking, were not developed specifically for people with disabilities, but can be used to increase accessibility.
Furthermore, organizations, such as AbilityNet and U Can Do IT, provide assessment services that determine which assistive technologies will best assist an individual client. These organizations also train people with disabilities in how to use computer-based assistive technology.
The LOMAK keyboard was designed in New Zealand specifically for persons with disabilities.
The Internet is also used by disability activists and charities to network and further their goals.
[edit] See also
• Adaptive recreation
• Developmental disability
• Disability discrimination act
• Disability etiquette
• Disability rights movement
• Disability studies
• Disabled robotics
• Ergonomy
• Human variability
• Invisible disability
• Learning disability
• List of disability rights organizations
• List of physically disabled politicians
• Orthopedics
• Passing
• Psychophobia
• Sexuality and disability
• Special education
• Ugly law
Invisible disabilities are disabilities that are not immediately apparent.
Some people with visual or auditory impairments who do not wear glasses or hearing aids may not be obviously impaired. (Some may wear contacts or have a cochlear implant instead.) A sitting disability is another category of invisible impairments. Sitting problems are usually caused by chronic back pain. Those with joint problems or chronic pain may not use mobility aids on good days, or at all. Other examples include Asperger syndrome, attention disorders (ADD/ADHD), brain injuries, chronic pain, chronic fatigue syndrome, chemical sensitivities, fibromyalgia, epilepsy, and repetitive stress injuries.
Invisible disabilities can also include chronic illnesses such as renal failure, diabetes, and sleep disorders if those diseases significantly impair normal activities of daily living. If a medical condition does not impair normal activities, then it is not a disability.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 Examples
o 1.1 Autoimmune disabilities
o 1.2 Chronic pain disabilities
o 1.3 Dietary disabilities
o 1.4 Neurological disabilities
o 1.5 Psychiatric disabilities
o 1.6 Disputed disabilities
• 2 Prevalence statistics
• 3 Legal protection
• 4 See also
• 5 References
• 6 Further reading
• 7 External links

[edit] Examples
[edit] Autoimmune disabilities
• Scleroderma
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Crohn's disease
• Primary immunodeficiency
• Lupus
• Sjögren's syndrome
• Interstitial cystitis
[edit] Chronic pain disabilities
• Fibromyalgia
• Injuries
• Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy
• Arachnoiditis
• Temporomandibular joint disorder
[edit] Dietary disabilities
• Coeliac Disease
• Diabetes
• Fructose malabsorption
• Hypoglycemia
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Metabolic syndrome
• Lactose Intolerance
• Lactulose Intolerance
• Hereditary Fructose Intolerance
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Food allergies (the most common are peanut, milk, egg, tree nut, fish, shellfish, soy, and wheat)
• Ulcerative Colitis
[edit] Neurological disabilities
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Transverse Myelitis
• Lyme Disease
• Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease
• Hyperhidrosis
• ADHD
• Autism
• Asperger syndrome
• Epilepsy
• Circadian rhythm sleep disorders
• Intracranial hypertension
• Fibromyalgia
• Brain Injury
• Dyslexia, dyscalcula, and other specific learning disabilities
[edit] Psychiatric disabilities
People with psychiatric disabilities make up a large segment of the invisibly-disabled population covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Examples include:
• Major depression
• Bipolar disorder
• Anxiety disorders
• Schizophrenia
• Personality disorders (when discussing mental impairments)
[edit] Disputed disabilities
• Multiple chemical sensitivity, or environmental illness. It is a reaction to primarily scented substances, but not a true allergy. Most of its critics believe that most cases represent a type of anxiety disorder or somatoform disorder, although different sufferers may have different underlying causes. Its few supporters believe that it is caused by the body's inability to tolerate synthetic substances.
• Electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS), sometimes also called electrosensitivity or electrical sensitivity (ES). In this condition, the sufferer reports that physical and/or psychological symptoms are aggravated by electromagnetic fields or other electromagnetic phenomena at exposure levels tolerated by the general public. Critics have stated that it is most likely a psychosomatic illness.[1] There are no large and well conducted studies supporting the claimed role of electromagnetic emissions in producing the reported symptoms.[1] Lobby and support groups of those reporting electrical sensitivity frequently draw a distinction between the merely EMF anxious and the truly EMF sensitive, and generally believe that electrical sensitivity is rare.[2]
Human variability
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Human variability, or human variation, is the range of possible values for any measurable characteristic, physical or mental, of human beings. Differences can be trivial or important, transient or permanent, voluntary or involuntary, congenital or acquired, genetic or environmental. This article discusses variabilities that characterize a person for all or much of his or her lifetime, and are perceived as not purely learned or readily changed (such as religion, language, customs, or tastes). Each person being different is so essential a part of human experience that it is difficult to even imagine a human existence in which other people are identical. Furthermore, the social value put on these differences by the society in which one lives affects every aspect of a person's life.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 Sources of human variability
• 2 Social significance and valuation of human variability
• 3 Common human variations
• 4 See also
• 5 External links

[edit] Sources of human variability
• biological inheritance, shaped by
o mutations, allelic differences
o genetic drift
o natural selection
o prenatal environment and fetal "programming"
o artificial or cultural selection
o nutrition and malnutrition
o quality of life and health care
o pollution and toxin exposure and other stressors
o education
o cultural environment
o social environment
o family environment and upbringing (especially before age 5)
 child abuse and neglect
o accidental, industrial or intentional injury, mutilation, or change of the body
While nearly all of the variables listed above are at least partially determined or affected by genetic factors, few of them are controlled by simple Mendelian inheritance. Most are polygenic or are determined by a complex combination of genes and early environment. Essentially, genes provide proclivities and potentialities continuously involving feedback mechanisms with the environment throughout life, but especially during prenatal and early childhood.
Many genetic differences (polymorphisms) have little effect on health or reproductive success, but serve to statistically distinguish one population from another. Researchers in the field of population genetics have been using these to elucidate ancient migrations and relationships between population groups.
Another purely genetic set of individual differences are the blood types and immune types we all carry. While some may carry mild advantages or disadvantages in terms of risks of particular diseases, the primary life-or-death significance comes when we attempt to transfer blood or organs from one person to another. Our immune system is designed to recognize these human differences with great sensitivity and enforce our individuality.
[edit] Social significance and valuation of human variability
Human beings rarely give all possible values for a given parameter of the same value, though not all people agree on the values or relative rankings. Examples of differences which may be given different values in different societies include darker/lighter skin color or thinness/fatness. Local valuation may affect social standing, reproductive opportunities, or even survival.
Possession of above average amounts of some abilities is valued by most societies: ability to learn; musical aptitude; strength, endurance, agility; resilience.
Each individual's distinctive differences, even the negatively valued ones, are usually considered an essential part of self-identity. Membership or status in a social group may depend on having specific values for certain attributes. It is not unusual for people to deliberately try to amplify or exaggerate differences, or to conceal or minimize them, for a variety of reasons. Examples of practices designed to minimize differences include hair straightening or skin bleaching, plastic surgery, orthodontia, and growth hormone treatment for extreme shortness. Conversely, male-female differences are enhanced and exaggerated in most societies.
These differences may vary or be distributed in various ways. Some, like height for a given sex, vary in close to a "normal" or Gaussian distribution. Some characteristics (e.g., skin color) vary continuously in a population, but the continuum may be socially divided into a small number of distinct categories. Some characteristics vary bimodally (for example, handedness), with fewer people in intermediate categories.
Different human societies may assign different values to various differences. The obvious examples are race and sex, while handedness has a much weaker value difference, but nearly all human differences will have social value dimension. In some societies, such as the United States, circumcision is practiced on a majority of males, as well as sex reassignment of intersex infants, with substantial emphasis on cultural norms.
Much social controversy surrounds the assigning or distinguishing of some categories, with variation between groups in a society or between societies as to the degree to which a difference is part of a person's "essential" nature or is partly a socially constructed attribution. For example, in the United States and Europe there has been a centuries-long debate over whether sexual orientation is an essential part of one's nature (the "essentialist" position), or a result of mutually reinforcing social perceptions and behavioral choices (the "constructivist" perspective). Other cultures may not even understand the controversy.
Controversy also surrounds the boundaries of "wellness", "wholeness," or "normality." In some cultures, physical imperfections can exclude one from religious service. In western culture there has been large-scale renegotiation of the social significance of variations which reduce the ability of a person to do one or more functions. Laws have been passed to alleviate the reduction of social opportunity available to those with disabilities. The concept of "differently abled" has been pushed by those persuading society to see limited incapacities as a human difference of less negative value.
When an inherited difference of body structure or function is severe enough, it is termed a genetic disease, but even this classification has fuzzy edges. There are many instances in which the degree of negative value of a human difference depends completely on the social or physical environment. For example, in a society with a large proportion of deaf people (as Martha's Vineyard in the 19th century), it was possible to deny that deafness is a disability. Another example of social renegotiation of the value assigned to a difference is reflected in the controversy over management of ambiguous genitalia, especially whether abnormal genital structure has enough negative consequences to warrant surgical correction.
Furthermore, many genetic traits may be advantageous in certain circumstances and disadvantageous in others. Being a heterozygote or carrier of the sickle-cell disease gene confers some protection against malaria, apparently enough to maintain the gene in populations of malarial areas. In a homozygous dose it is a significant disability.
The extreme exercise of social valuation of human difference is in the definition of "human." What difference is great enough to assign an individual "nonhuman" status, in the sense of withholding our identification, charity, and social participation? This can change enormously between cultures and over time. For example, nineteenth century European and American ideas of race and eugenics culminated in the attempts of the Nazi-led German society of the 1930s to deny not just reproduction, but life itself to a variety of people with "differences" attributed in part to biologic characteristics. Western society's revulsion to this contributed to a considerable readjustment of valuation of differences.
Contemporary controversy continues over "what kind of human" is a fetus or child with a significant disability. On one end are people who would argue that Down's syndrome is not a disability but a mere "difference," and on the other those who consider such a calamity as to assume that such a child is better off "not born". In India and China, being female is widely considered such a negatively valued human difference that similar decisions are made by the hundreds of thousands.
Acknowledgement and study of human differences does have a wide range of uses, such as tailoring the size and shape of manufactured items. See Ergonomics.
[edit] Common human variations
• Human genetic variation
o Sex (Male, female, see also intersex)
o Race
o Skin or eye coloring, complexion
o Hair color, baldness, hirsutism, body hair
o Supernumerary body part (such as Polydactylism, Supernumerary nipples, Hyperdontia) or missing body parts (such as Hypogenesis)
o Cleft lip and Cleft palate
• Body shape and size
o Height
 Shortness, dwarfism, Little people
 Tallness, gigantism
o Body type/Somatotype, thinness, obesity
• Motor skills, handedness, dexterity
• Physical disabilities
o Amputation, loss of limbs or limb function
o Blindness, color blindness
o Deafness, tone deafness
o Muteness
o Diseases and defects of other organ systems
• Reproductive attributes
o virginity
o fertility
o parenthood
• Human development
o age
o childhood
o puberty/adolescence
o menopause
• Other aspects of human physical appearance
o attractiveness (highly subjective, variable, and impermanent)
o acquired variability in physical appearance
 body modification
• Psychological and personality traits
o Intelligence, spatial aptitude
o Temperament, introversion, extroversion, impulsiveness, risk-taking
o Developmental disability, cognitive disability, social disability
o Emotional stability, mental illness
• Musical ability
• Creative ability
Ergonomics is the science of designing the job, equipment, and workplace to fit the worker. Proper ergonomic design is necessary to prevent repetitive strain injuries, which can develop over time and can lead to long-term disability.[1]
The International Ergonomics Association defines ergonomics as follows:[2]
Ergonomics (or human factors) is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance.
Ergonomics is employed to fulfill the two goals of health and productivity. It is relevant in the design of such things as safe furniture and easy-to-use interfaces to machines.
Adaptive recreation
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Adaptive Recreation is a concept whereby people with disabilities are given the opportunity to participate in recreational activities. Through the use of activity modifications and assistive technology, athletes or participants in sports or other recreational pursuits are able to play alongside their non-disabled peers. The Boy Scouts of America, for example, has about 100,000 physically or mentally disabled members throughout the United States.[1]
Activity Modifications are changes made to a game or activity that allow all players to have an equal or more equal chance of doing well. One example of an activity modification is a wheelchair basketball game, where both disabled and non-disabled players use wheelchairs. The players' ability to walk is no longer a factor in how well they play.
Assistive Devices are any machines or equipment used to level the playing field in a mixed-ability competition, or to allow someone the opportunity to participate that could not do so without its benefit. Good examples of assistive devices are pool lifts that lower non-ambulatory swimmers into a pool, and standing frames that allow wheelchair users to stand up while playing ball. Many municipal governments in the U.S. use adaptive recreation as a way to meet the requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act, specifically its section dealing with public services. Governments are required by ADA law to provide reasonable accommodation to people with disabilities in order to allow them participation in sports and recreation programs.
Adaptive behavior is a type of behavior that is used to adjust to another type of behavior or situation. This is often characterized by a kind of behavior that allows an individual to change an unconstructive or disruptive behavior to something more constructive. These behaviors are most often social or personal behaviors. For example a constant repetitive action could be re-focused on something that creates or builds something. In other words the behavior can be adapted to something else.
A maladaptive behavior is a behavior or trait that is not adaptive — it is counterproductive to the individual. Maladaptivity is frequently used as an indicator of abnormality or mental dysfunction, since its assessment is relatively free from subjectivity. However, many behaviors considered moral can be apparently maladaptive, such as dissent or abstinence.
In behavioral ecology an adaptive behavior is a behavior which contributes directly or indirectly to an individual's survival or reproductive success and is thus subject to the forces of natural selection.[1] Examples include favoring kin in altruistic behaviors, female selection of the most fit male, and defending a territory or harem from rivals.
Conversely, a non-adaptive behavior is a behavior or trait that is counterproductive to an individual's survival or reproductive success. These might include altruistic behaviors which do not favor kin, adoption of unrelated young, and being a subordinate in a dominance hierarchy.
Adaptation is the evolutionary process whereby a population becomes better suited to its habitat.[1][2] This process takes place over many generations,[3] and is one of the basic phenomena of biology.[4]
The term adaptation may also refer to a feature which is especially important for an organism's survival.[5] For example, the adaptation of horses' teeth to the grinding of grass, or their ability to run fast and escape predators. Such adaptations are produced in a variable population by the better suited forms reproducing more successfully, that is, by natural selection.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 General principles
o 1.1 Definitions
o 1.2 Adaptedness and fitness
• 2 Brief history
• 3 Types of adaptation
o 3.1 Changes in habitat
 3.1.1 Habitat tracking
 3.1.2 Genetic change
o 3.2 Intimate relationships: co-adaptations
 3.2.1 Mimicry
o 3.3 The basic machinery: internal adaptations
o 3.4 Compromise and conflict between adaptations
• 4 Shifts in function
o 4.1 Pre-adaptations
o 4.2 Co-option of existing traits: exaptation
• 5 Related issues
o 5.1 Non-adaptive traits
 5.1.1 Fitness landscapes; drift
 5.1.2 Vestigial organs
o 5.2 Extinction
 5.2.1 Co-extinction
o 5.3 Flexibility, acclimatization, learning
 5.3.1 Flexibility
 5.3.2 Acclimatization
 5.3.3 Learning
• 6 Function and teleonomy
o 6.1 Function
o 6.2 Teleonomy
• 7 References
• 8 See also

[edit] General principles
The significance of an adaptation can only be understood in relation to the total biology of the species. Julian Huxley [6]
Adaptation is, first of all, a process, rather than a physical part of a body.[7] The distinction may be seen in an internal parasite (such as a fluke), where the bodily structure is greatly simplified, but nevertheless the organism is highly adapted to its unusual environment. From this we see that adaptation is not just a matter of visible traits: in such parasites critical adaptations take place in the life-cycle, which is often quite complex.[8] However, as a practical term, adaptation is often used for the product: those features of a species which result from the process. Many aspects of an animal or plant can be correctly called adaptations, though there are always some features whose function is in doubt. By using the term adaptation for the evolutionary process, and adaptive trait for the bodily part or function (the product), the two senses of the word may be distinguished.
Adaptation may be seen as one aspect of a two-stage process. First, there is speciation (species-splitting or cladogenesis), caused by geographical isolation or some other mechanism.[9][10] Second, there follows adaptation, driven by natural selection. Something like this must have happened with Darwin's finches, and there are many other examples. The present favourite is the evolution of cichlid fish in African lakes, where the question of reproductive isolation is much more complex.[11][12]
Another great principle is that an organism must be viable at all stages of its development and at all stages of its evolution. This is obviously true, and it follows that there are constraints on the evolution of development, behaviour and structure of organisms. The main constraint, over which there has been much debate, is the requirement that changes in the system during evolution should be relatively small changes, because the body systems are so complex and interlinked. This is a sound principle, though there may be rare exceptions: polyploidy in plants is common,[13] and the symbiosis of micro-organisms that formed the eukaryota is a more exotic example.[14]
All adaptations help organisms survive in their ecological niches.[15] These adaptative traits may be structural, behavioral or physiological. Structural adaptations are physical features of an organism (shape, body covering, defensive or offensive armament); and also the internal organization). Behavioural adaptations are composed of inherited behaviour chains and/or the ability to learn: behaviours may be inherited in detail (instincts), or a tendency for learning may be inherited (see neuropsychology). Examples: searching for food, mating, vocalizations. Physiological adaptations permit the organism to perform special functions (for instance, making venom, secreting slime, phototropism); but also more general functions such as growth and development, temperature regulation, ionic balance and other aspects of homeostasis. Adaptation, then, affects all aspects of the life of an organism.
[edit] Definitions
The following definitions are mainly due to Theodosius Dobzhansky.
1. Adaptation is the evolutionary process whereby an organism becomes better able to live in its habitat or habitats.[16]
2. Adaptedness is the state of being adapted: the degree to which an organism is able to live and reproduce in a given set of habitats.[17]
3. An adaptive trait is an aspect of the developmental pattern of the organism which enables or enhances the probability of that organism surviving and reproducing.[18]
[edit] Adaptedness and fitness
Main article: Fitness (biology)
From the above definitions, it is clear that there is a relationship between adaptedness and fitness (a key population genetics concept). Fitness is an estimate and a predictor of the rate of natural selection. What natural selection does is change the relative frequencies of alternative phenotypes, insofar as they are heritable.[19] Although the two are connected, the one does not imply the other: a phenotype with high adaptedness may not have high fitness. Dobzhansky mentioned the example of the Californian redwood, which is highly adapted, but a relic species in danger of extinction.[16] Elliott Sober commented that adaptation was a retrospective concept since it implied something about the history of a trait, whereas fitness predicts a trait's future.[20]
1. Fitness. The degree of demographic difference among phenotypes. Usually a relative measure: the average contribution to a breeding population by a phenotype or a class of phenotypes. This is also known as Darwinian fitness, relative fitness, selective coefficient, and other terms.
2. Adaptedness. Usually an absolute measure: the average absolute contribution to the breeding population by a carrier of a phenotype or a class of phenotypes. Also known as absolute fitness, and as the Malthusian parameter when applied to species as a whole.[21]
[edit] Brief history
Main article: History of evolutionary thought
Adaptation as a fact of life has been accepted by all the great thinkers who have tackled the world of living organisms. It is their explanations of how adaptation arises that separates these thinkers. A few of the most significant ideas:[22]
• Empedocles did not believe that adaptation required a final cause (~ purpose), but "came about naturally, since such things survived". Aristotle, however, did believe in final causes.
• In natural theology, adaptation was interpreted as the work of a deity, even as evidence for the existence of God.[23] William Paley believed that organisms were perfectly adapted to the lives they lead, an argument that shadowed Leibniz, who had argued that God had brought about the best of all possible worlds. Voltaire's Dr Pangloss[24] is a parody of this optimistic idea, and Hume also argued against design.[25] The Bridgewater Treatises are a product of natural theology, though some of the authors managed to present their work in a fairly neutral manner. The series was lampooned by Robert Knox, who held quasi-evolutionary views, as the Bilgewater Treatises. Darwin broke with the tradition by emphasising the flaws and limitations which occurred in the animal and plant worlds.[26]


Lamarck
• Lamarck. His is a proto-evolutionary theory of the inheritance of acquired traits, whose main purpose is to explain adaptations by natural means.[27] He proposed a tendency for organisms to become more complex, moving up a ladder of progress, plus "the influence of circumstances", usually expressed as use and disuse. His evolutionary ideas, and those of Geoffroy, fail because they cannot be reconciled with heredity. This was known even before Mendel by medical men interested in human races (Wells, Lawrence), and especially by Weismann.
Many other students of natural history, such as Buffon, accepted adaptation, and some also accepted evolution, without voicing their opinions as to the mechanism. This illustrates the real merit of Darwin and Wallace, and secondary figures such as Bates, for pushing forward a mechanism whose significance had only been glimpsed previously. A century later, experimental field studies and breeding experiments by such as Ford and Dobzhansky produced evidence that natural selection was not only the 'engine' behind adaptation, but was a much stronger force than had previously been thought.[28][29][30]
[edit] Types of adaptation
Adaptation is the heart and soul of evolution. Niles Eldredge [31]
[edit] Changes in habitat
Before Darwin, adaptation was seen as a fixed relationship between an organism and its habitat. It was not appreciated that as the climate changed, so did the habitat; and as the habitat changed, so did the biota. Also, habitats are subject to changes in their biota: for example, invasions of species from other areas. The relative numbers of species in a given habitat are always changing. Change is the rule, though much depends on the speed and degree of the change.
When the habitat changes, three main things may happen to a resident population: habitat tracking, genetic change or extinction. In fact, all three things may occur in sequence. Of these three effects, only genetic change brings about adaptation.
[edit] Habitat tracking
When a habitat changes, the most common thing to happen is that the resident population moves to another locale which suits it; this is the typical response of flying insects or oceanic organisms, who have wide (though not unlimited) opportunity for movement.[32] This common response is called habitat tracking. It is one explanation put forward for the periods of apparent stasis in the fossil record (the punctuated equilibrium thesis).[33]
[edit] Genetic change
Genetic change is what occurs in a population when natural selection acts on the genetic variability of the population. By this means, the population adapts genetically to its circumstances.[34] Genetic changes may result in visible structures, or may adjust physiological activity in a way that suits the changed habitat.
It is now clear that habitats and biota do frequently change. Therefore, it follows that the process of adaptation is never finally complete.[35] Over time, it may happen that the environment changes little, and the species comes to fit its surroundings better and better. On the other hand, it may happen that changes in the environment occur relatively rapidly, and then the species becomes less and less well adapted. Seen like this, adaptation is a genetic tracking process, which goes on all the time to some extent, but especially when the population cannot or does not move to another, less hostile area. Also, to a greater or lesser extent, the process affects every species in a particular ecosystem.[36][37]
Van Valen thought that even in a stable environment, competing species had to constantly adapt to maintain their relative standing. This became known as the Red Queen hypothesis.
[edit] Intimate relationships: co-adaptations
Main article: Co-adaptation
In co-evolution, where the existence of one species is tightly bound up with the life of another species, new or 'improved' adaptations which occur in one species are often followed by the appearance and spread of corresponding features in the other species. There are many examples of this; the idea emphasises that the life and death of living things is intimately connected, not just with the physical environment, but with the life of other species. These relationships are intrinsically dynamic, and may continue on a trajectory for millions of years, as has the relationship between flowering plants and insects (pollination).
Pollinator constancy: these honeybees selectively visit flowers from only one species, as can be seen by the colour of the pollen in their baskets:




• Predator-prey
• Parasite-host
• Infection-resistance
• Symbiosis
• Mutualism
• Mimicry
• Pollination syndrome
• Co-extinction
The gut contents, wing structures, and mouthpart morphologies of fossilized beetles and flies suggest that they acted as early pollinators. The association between beetles and angiosperms during the early Cretaceous period led to parallel radiations of angiosperms and insects into the late Cretaceous. The evolution of nectaries in late Cretaceous flowers signals the beginning of the mutualism between hymenopterans and angiosperms.[38]
[edit] Mimicry
Main article: Mimicry


A and B show real wasps; the rest are mimics: three hoverflies and one beetle.
Henry Walter Bates' work on Amazonian butterflies led him to develop the first scientific account of mimicry, especially the kind of mimicry which bears his name: Batesian mimicry.[39] This is the mimicry by a palatable species of an unpalatable or noxious species. A common example seen in temperate gardens is the hover-fly, many of which – though bearing no sting – mimic the warning colouration of hymenoptera (wasps and bees). Such mimicry does not need to be perfect to improve the survival of the palatable species.[40]
Bates, Wallace and Müller believed that Batesian and Müllerian mimicry provided evidence for the action of natural selection, a view which is now standard amongst biologists.[41] All aspects of this situation can be, and have been, the subject of research.[42] Field and experimental work on these ideas continues to this day; the topic connects strongly to speciation, genetics and development.[43]
• More on mimicry: Warning Colour and Mimicry Lecture outline from University College London
[edit] The basic machinery: internal adaptations
There are some important adaptations to do with the overall coordination of the systems in the body. Such adaptations may have significant consequences. Examples, in vertebrates, would be temperature regulation, or improvements in brain function, or an effective immune system. An example in plants would be the development of the reproductive system in flowering plants.[44] Such adaptations may make the clade (monophyletic group) more viable in a wide range of habitats. The acquisition of such major adaptations has often served as the spark for adaptive radiation, and huge success for long periods of time for a whole group of animals or plants.
[edit] Compromise and conflict between adaptations
It is a profound truth that Nature does not know best; that genetical evolution... is a story of waste, makeshift, compromise and blunder. Peter Medawar [45]
All adaptations have a downside: horse legs are great for running on grass, but they can't scratch their backs; mammals' hair helps temperature, but offers a niche for ectoparasites; the only flying penguins do is under water. Adaptations serving different functions may be mutually destructive. Compromise and make-shift occur widely, not perfection. Selection pressures pull in different directions, and the adaptation that results is some kind of compromise.[46]
Since the phenotype as a whole is the target of selection, it is impossible to improve simultaneously all aspects of the phenotype to the same degree. Ernst Mayr [47]
Consider the antlers of the Irish elk, (often supposed to be far too large; in deer antler size has an allometric relationship to body size). Obviously antlers serve positively for defence against predators, and to score victories in the annual rut. But they are costly in terms of resource. Their size during the last glacial period presumably depended on the relative gain and loss of reproductive capacity in the population of elks during that time.[48] Another example: camouflage to avoid detection is destroyed when vivid colors are displayed at mating time. Here the risk to life is counterbalanced by the necessity for reproduction.


An Indian Peacock's train
in full display
The peacock's ornamental train (grown anew in time for each mating season) is a famous adaptation. It must reduce his maneuverability and flight, and is hugely conspicuous; also, its growth costs food resources. Darwin's explanation of its advantage was in terms of sexual selection: "it depends on the advantage which certain individuals have over other individuals of the same sex and species, in exclusive relation to reproduction." [49] The kind of sexual selection represented by the peacock is called 'mate choice', with an implication that the process selects the more fit over the less fit, and so has survival value.[50] The recognition of sexual selection was for a long time in abeyance, but has been rehabilitated.[51] In practice, the blue peafowl Pavo cristatus is a pretty successful species, with a big natural range in India, so the overall outcome of their mating system is quite viable.
The conflict between the size of the human foetal brain at birth, (which cannot be larger than about 400ccs, else it will not get through the mother's pelvis) and the size needed for an adult brain (about 1400ccs), means the brain of a newborn child is quite immature. The most vital things in human life (locomotion, speech) just have to wait while the brain grows and matures. That is the result of the birth compromise. Much of the problem comes from our upright bipedal stance, without which our pelvis could be shaped more suitably for birth. Neanderthals had a similar problem.[52][53][54]
[edit] Shifts in function
Adaptation and function are two aspects of one problem. Julian Huxley [55]
[edit] Pre-adaptations
This occurs when a species or population has characteristics which (by chance) are suited for conditions which have not yet arisen. For example, the polyploid rice-grass Spartina townsendii is better adapted than either of its parent species to their own habitat of saline marsh and mud-flats.[56] White Leghorn fowl are markedly more resistant to vitamin B deficiency than other breeds.[57] On a plentiful diet there is no difference, but on a restricted diet this preadaptation could be decisive.
Pre-adaptation may occur because a natural population carries a huge quantity of genetic variability.[58] In diploid eukaryotes, this is a consequence of the system of sexual reproduction, where mutant alleles get partially shielded, for example, by the selective advantage of heterozygotes. Micro-organisms, with their huge populations, also carry a great deal of genetic variability.
The first experimental evidence of the pre-adaptive nature of genetic variants in micro-organisms was provided by Salvador Luria and Max Delbrück who developed fluctuation analysis, a method to show the random fluctuation of pre-existing genetic changes that conferred resistance to phage in the bacterium Escherichia coli.
[edit] Co-option of existing traits: exaptation
Main article: Exaptation
The classic example is the ear ossicles of mammals, which we know from palaeontological and embrological studies originated in the upper and lower jaws and the hyoid of their Synapsid ancestors, and further back still were part of the gill arches of early fish.[59][60] We owe this esoteric knowledge to the comparative anatomists, who, a century ago, were at the cutting edge of evolutionary studies.[61] The word exaptation was coined to cover these shifts in function, which are surprisingly common in evolutionary history.[62] The origin of wings from feathers that were originally used for temperature regulation is a more recent discovery (see feathered dinosaurs).
[edit] Related issues
[edit] Non-adaptive traits
Some traits appear to be not adaptive, that is, selectively neutral. There may be various causes: the utility of a trait is lost and does not now appear adaptive; the utility of a trait is unknown; the trait is a consequence of another trait that is adaptive (i.e. spandrels). Because genes have pleiotropic effects, not all traits may be functional. Of course, a trait may have been adaptive at some point in an organism's evolutionary history, but habitats change, leading to adaptations becoming redundant or even a hindrance (maladaptations). Such adaptations are termed vestigial. So, the utility of adaptations may ebb and flow.
[edit] Fitness landscapes; drift
Main article: Fitness landscape
Main article: Genetic drift
Sewall Wright's explanation for evolutionary stasis was that organisms come to occupy adaptive peaks. In order to evolve to another, higher peak, the species would first have to pass through a valley of maladaptive intermediate stages. This could happen by genetic drift if the population were small enough. This was Wright's shifting balance theory of evolution.[63] There has been much skepticism among evolutionary biologists as to whether these rather delicate conditions hold often in natural populations.[58] Ronald Fisher felt that most populations in nature were too large for these effects of genetic drift to be important.[28]
[edit] Vestigial organs
Main article: Vestigiality
Many organisms have vestigial organs, which are the remnants of fully functional structures in their ancestors. As a result of changes in lifestyle the organs became redundant, and are either not functional or reduced in functionality. With the loss of function goes the loss of positive selection, and the subsequent accumulation of deleterious mutations. Since any structure represents some kind of cost to the general economy of the body, an advantage may accrue from their elimination once they are not functional. Examples: wisdom teeth in humans; the loss of pigment and functional eyes in cave fauna; the loss of structure in endoparasites.[64]
[edit] Extinction
Main article: Extinction
If a population cannot move or change sufficiently to preserve its long-term viability, then obviously, it will become extinct, at least in that locale. The species may or may not survive in other locales. Species extinction occurs when the death rate over the entire species (population, gene pool ...) exceeds the birth rate for a long enough period for the species to disappear. It was an observation of Van Valen that groups of species tend to have a characteristic and fairly regular rate of extinction.[65]
[edit] Co-extinction
Main article: Co-extinction
Just as we have co-adaptation, there is also co-extinction. Co-extinction refers to the loss of a species due to the extinction of another; for example, the extinction of parasitic insects following the loss of their hosts. Co-extinction can also occur when a flowering plant loses its pollinator, or through the disruption of a food chain.[66] "Species co-extinction is a manifestation of the interconnectedness of organisms in complex ecosystems ... While co-extinction may not be the most important cause of species extinctions, it is certainly an insidious one".[67]
[edit] Flexibility, acclimatization, learning
Flexibility deals with the relative capacity of an organism to maintain themselves in different habitats: their degree of specialization. Acclimatization is a term used for automatic physiological adjustments during life; learning is the term used for improvement in behavioral performance during life. In biology these terms are preferred, not adaptation, for changes during life which improve the performance of individuals. These adjustments are not inherited genetically by the next generation.
Adaptation, on the other hand, occurs over many generations; it is a gradual process caused by natural selection which changes the genetic make-up of a population so the collective performs better in its niche.
[edit] Flexibility
Populations differ in their phenotypic plasticity, which is the ability of an organism with a given genotype to change its phenotype in response to changes in its habitat, or to its move to a different habitat.[68][69]
To a greater or lesser extent, all living things can adjust to circumstances. The degree of flexibility is inherited, and varies to some extent between individuals. A highly specialized animal or plant lives only in a well-defined habitat, eats a specific type of food, and cannot survive if its needs are not met. Many herbivores are like this; extreme examples are koalas which depend on eucalyptus, and pandas which require bamboo. A generalist, on the other hand, eats a range of food, and can survive in many different conditions. Examples are humans, rats, crabs and many carnivores. The tendency to behave in a specialized or exploratory manner is inherited – it is an adaptation.
Rather different is developmental flexibility: "An animal or plant is developmentally flexible if when it is raised or transferred to new conditions it develops so that it is better fitted to survive in the new circumstances".[70] Once again, there are huge differences between species, and the capacities to be flexible are inherited.
[edit] Acclimatization
Main article: Acclimatization
If humans move to a higher altitude, respiration and physical exertion become a problem, but after spending time in high altitude conditions they acclimatize to the pressure by increasing production of red blood corpuscles. The ability to acclimatize is an adaptation, but not the acclimatization itself. Fecundity goes down, but deaths from some tropical diseases also goes down.
Over a longer period of time, some people will reproduce better at these high altitudes than others. They will contribute more heavily to later generations. Gradually the whole population becomes adapted to the new conditions. This we know takes place, because the performance of long-term communities at higher altitude is significantly better than the performance of new arrivals, even when the new arrivals have had time to make physiological adjustments.[71]
Some kinds of acclimatization happen so rapidly that they are better called reflexes. The rapid colour changes in some flatfish, cephalopods, chameleons are examples.[72]
[edit] Learning
Social learning is supreme for humans, and is possible for quite a few mammals and birds: of course, that does not involve genetic transmission except to the extent that the capacities are inherited. Similarly, the capacity to learn is an inherited adaptation, but not what is learnt; the capacity for human speech is inherited, but not the details of language.
[edit] Function and teleonomy
Adaptation raises some issues concerning how biologists use key terms such as function.
[edit] Function
To say something has a function is to say something about what it does for the organism, obviously. It also says something about its history: how it has come about. A heart pumps blood: that is its function. It also emits sound, which is just an ancillary side-effect. That is not its function. The heart has a history (which may be well or poorly understood), and that history is about how natural selection formed and maintained the heart as a pump. Every aspect of an organism that has a function has a history. Now, an adaptation must have a functional history: therefore we expect it must have undergone selection caused by relative survival in its habitat. It would be quite wrong to use the word adaptation about a trait which arose as a by-product.[73][74]
It is widely regarded as unprofessional for a biologist to say something like "A wing is for flying", although that is their normal function. A biologist would be conscious that sometime in the remote past feathers on a small dinosaur had the function of retaining heat, and that later many wings were not used for flying (e.g. penguins, ostriches). So, the biologist would rather say that the wings on a bird or an insect usually had the function of aiding flight. That would carry the connotation of being an adaptation with a history of evolution by natural selection.
[edit] Teleonomy
Main article: Teleonomy
Teleonomy is a term invented to describe the study of goal-directed functions which are not guided by the conscious forethought of man or any supernatural entity. It is contrasted with Aristotle's teleology, which has connotations of intention, purpose and foresight. Evolution is teleonomic; adaptation hoards hindsight rather than foresight. The following is a definition for its use in biology:
Teleonomy: The hypothesis that adaptations arise without the existence of a prior purpose, but by the action of natural selection on genetic variability.[75]
The term may have been suggested by Colin Pittendrigh in 1958;[76] it grew out of cybernetics and self-organising systems. Ernst Mayr, George C. Williams and Jacques Monod picked up the term and used it in evolutionary biology.[77][78][79][80]
Philosophers of science have also commented on the term. Ernest Nagel analysed the concept of goal-directedness in biology;[81] and David Hull commented on the use of teleology and teleonomy by biologists:
Haldane can be found remarking, "Teleology is like a mistress to a biologist: he cannot live without her but he’s unwilling to be seen with her in public." Today the mistress has become a lawfully wedded wife. Biologists no longer feel obligated to apologize for their use of teleological language; they flaunt it. The only concession which they make to its disreputable past is to rename it ‘teleonomy’.[82]



Assistive technology
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Hearing aid
Assistive technology (AT) is a generic term that includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities and includes the process used in selecting, locating, and using them.
The Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1988 (US Public Law 100-407) states that it is "technology designed to be utilized in an assistive technology device or assistive technology service."
AT promotes greater independence by enabling people to perform tasks that they were formerly unable to accomplish, or had great difficulty accomplishing, by providing enhancements to or changed methods of interacting with the technology needed to accomplish such tasks.
Likewise, disability advocates point out that technology is often created without regard to people with disabilities, creating unnecessary barriers to hundreds of millions of people.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 Assistive technology and universal accessibility
• 2 Assistive technology products
o 2.1 Personal Emergency Response Systems
o 2.2 Accessible computer input
o 2.3 Durable Medical Equipment (DME)
o 2.4 Learning difficulties
o 2.5 Visual impairment
 2.5.1 Hardware
 2.5.2 Software
o 2.6 Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
o 2.7 Deafness and hearing loss
o 2.8 Others
• 3 See also
• 4 References
• 5 Further reading

[edit] Assistive technology and universal accessibility


Universally Accessible Street Cross at Evanston, Illinois
Universal (or broadened) accessibility, or universal design means greater usability, particularly for people with disabilities.
Universally accessible technology yields great rewards to the typical user as well; good accessible design is universal design. One example is the "curb cuts" (or dropped curbs) in the sidewalk at street crossings. While these curb cuts enable pedestrians with mobility impairments to cross the street, they also aid parents with carriages and strollers, shoppers with carts, and travellers and workers with pull-type bags.
As an example, the modern telephone is inaccessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Combined with a text telephone (also known as a TDD Telecommunications device for the deaf and in the USA generally called a TTY[TeleTYpewriter]), which converts typed characters into tones that may be sent over the telephone line, a deaf person is able to communicate immediately at a distance. Together with "relay" services, in which an operator reads what the deaf person types and types what a hearing person says, the deaf person is then given access to everyone's telephone, not just those of people who possess text telephones. Many telephones now have volume controls, which are primarily intended for the benefit of people who are hard of hearing, but can be useful for all users at times and places where there is significant background noise. Some have larger keys well-spaced to facilitate accurate dialing.
Also, a person with a mobility impairment can have difficulty using calculators. Speech recognition software recognizes short commands and makes use of calculators easier.
People with learning disabilities like dyslexia or dysgraphia are using text-to-speech (TTS) software for reading and spelling programs for assistance in writing texts.
Computers with their peripheral devices, editing, spellchecking and speech synthesis software are becoming the core-stones of the assistive technologies coming for relief to the people with learning disabilities and to the people with visual impairments. The assisting spelling programs and voice facilities are bringing better and more convenient text reading and writing experience to the general public.
Toys which have been adapted to be used by children with disabilities may have advantages for non-disabled children as well. The Lekotek movement assists parents by lending assistive technology toys and expertise to families.
The following professionals may be certified by RESNA (RESNA.org) to serve the assistive technology needs of individuals: occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech language pathologists/audiologists, orthotists and prosthetists, educators, and a variety of other rehabilitation and health professionals.



Recreation
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"Fun" redirects here. For other uses, see Fun (disambiguation).
For the 1914 Charlie Chaplin film, see Recreation (film).
Not to be confused with re-creation.


People participating in summer luge as a form of recreation, in the Vosges.
Recreation or fun is the expenditure of time in a manner designed for therapeutic refreshment of one's body or mind. While leisure is more likely a form of entertainment or sleep, recreation is active for the participant but in a refreshing and diverting manner. As people in the world's wealthier regions lead increasingly sedentary lifestyles, the need for recreation has increased. The rise of so called active vacations exemplifies this.


Serious game
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This article is written like a personal reflection or essay and may require cleanup. Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style. (December 2007)



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A serious game is a game designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment. The "serious" adjective is generally appended to refer to products used by industries like defense, education, scientific exploration, health care, emergency management, city planning, engineering, religion, and politics.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 Overview
• 2 Development
o 2.1 Advantages
• 3 Classifications and subsets of serious games
• 4 Examples
• 5 Notable developers
• 6 See also
• 7 References
• 8 External links

[edit] Overview
The term "funny game" was actually used long before the introduction of computer and electronic devices into entertainment. Clark Abt discussed the idea and used the term in his 1970 book Serious Games,[1] published by Viking Press. In that book, his references were primarily to the use of board and card games. But he gave a useful general definition which is still considered applicable in the computer age:
Reduced to its formal essence, a game is an activity among two or more independent decision-makers seeking to achieve their objectives in some limiting context. A more conventional definition would say that a game is a context with rules among adversaries trying to win objectives. We are concerned with serious games in the sense that these games have an explicit and carefully thought-out educational purpose and are not intended to be played primarily for amusement.
Mike Zyda provided an update and a logical approach to the term in his 2005 article in IEEE Computer entitled, "From Visual Simulation to Virtual Reality to Games". Zyda's definition begins with "game" and proceeds from there:
• Game: “a physical or mental contest, played according to specific rules, with the goal of amusing or rewarding the participant.”
• Video Game: “a mental contest, played with a computer according to certain rules for amusement, recreation, or winning a stake.”
• Serious Game: “a mental contest, played with a computer in accordance with specific rules that uses entertainment to further government or corporate training, education, health, public policy, and strategic communication objectives.”
Long before the term "serious game" came into wide use with the Serious Games Initiative in 2002, games were being made for non-entertainment purposes. The continued failure of the edutainment space to prove profitable, plus the growing technical abilities of games to provide realistic settings, led to a re-examination of the concept of serious games in the late 1990s. During this time, a number of scholars began to examine the utility of games for other purposes, contributed to the growing interest in applying games to new purposes. Additionally, the ability of games to contribute to training expanded at the same time with the development of multi-player gaming. In 2002, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington D.C. launched a "Serious Games Initiative" to encourage the development of games that address policy and management issues. More focused sub-groups began to appear in 2004, including Games for Change which focuses on social issues and social change, and Games for Health which addresses health care applications.
There is no single definition of serious games, though they are generally held to be games used for training, advertising, simulation, or education. Alternate definitions include the application of games concepts, technologies and ideas to non-entertainment applications. This can also include specific hardware for video games, such as exergaming.
Serious games are aimed for a large variety of audiences, including primary or secondary education, professionals and consumers. Serious games can be of any genre, use any game technology, and be developed for any platform. Some may consider them a kind of edutainment; however, the mainstay of the community are resistant to this term.
A serious game may be a simulation which has the look and feel of a game, but corresponds to non-game events or processes, including business operations and military operations (even though many popular entertainment games depicted business and military operations). The games are made to provide an engaging, self-reinforcing context in which to motivate, educate and train the players. Other purposes for such games include marketing and advertisement. The largest users (unsubstantiated by business intelligence) of serious games appear to be the US government and medical professionals.[citation needed] Other commercial sectors are actively pursuing development of these types of tools as well.
[edit] Development
The concept of using games for education dates back before the days of computers, but the first serious game is often considered to be Army Battlezone, an abortive project headed by Atari in 1980, designed to use the Battlezone tank game for military training. In recent years, the US government and military have periodically looked towards game developers to create low-cost simulations that are both accurate and engaging. Game developers' experience with gameplay and game design made them prime candidates for developing these types of simulations which cost millions of dollars less than traditional simulations, which often require special hardware or complete facilities to use.
Outside of the government, there is substantial interest in games for education, professional training, healthcare, advertising and public policy. For example, games from websites such as Newsgaming.com are "very political games groups made outside the corporate game system" that are "raising issues through media but using the distinct properties of games to engage people from a fresh perspective," says Henry Jenkins, the director of MIT's comparative media studies program. Such games, he said, constitute a "radical fictional work."1 Michigan State University offers a Serious Games MA, a Master of Arts graduate program and graduate certificate in serious game design.[2] In Europe a similar Masters Programme has been set up at the University of Salford in 2005 and named "MSc in Creative Games".
[edit] Advantages
Video and computer game developers are accustomed to developing games quickly and are adept at creating games that simulate—to varying degrees—functional entities such as radar and combat vehicles. Using existing infrastructure, game developers can create games that simulate battles, processes and events at a fraction of the cost of traditional government contractors.
Traditional simulators usually cost millions of dollars not only to develop, but also to deploy, and generally require the procurement of specialized hardware. The costs of media for serious games is very low. Instead of volumes of media or computers for high-end simulators, SGs require nothing more than a DVD or even a single CD-ROM, exactly like traditional computer and video games require. Deploying these to the field requires nothing more than dropping them in the mail or accessing a dedicated web site.
Finally, while SGs are meant to train or otherwise educate users, they often hope to be engaging. Game developers are experienced at making games fun and engaging as their livelihood depends on it. In the course of simulating events and processes, developers automatically inject entertainment and playability in their applications.
[edit] Classifications and subsets of serious games
The classification of serious games is something that is yet to solidify, there are however a number of terms in reasonably common use for inclusion here.
• Advergames
• Edutainment
• Games-Based Learning - These games have defined learning outcomes. Generally they are designed in order to balance the subject matter with the gameplay and the ability of the player to retain and apply said subject matter to the real world.[3]
• Edumarket Games - When a serious game combines several aspects (such as advergaming and edutainment aspects or persuasive and news aspects), the application is an Edumarket game. For example, Food Force combines news, persuasive and edutainment goals.
• News Game - Journalistic games that report on recent events or deliver an editorial comment. Examples include September 12th [4]
• Simulations or Simulation Games - Games used for the acquisition or exercise of different skills, to teach effective behavior in the context of simulated conditions or situations. In practice, are widely used simulation driving different vehicles (cars, trains, airplanes; e.g. FlightGear), simulation of management of specific industries (e.g. Transport Tycoon), and universal business simulation, developing strategic thinking and teaching users the basics of macro-and microeconomics, the basics of business administration (e.g. Virtonomics).
• Persuasive Games - games used as persuasion technology
• Organizational-dynamic games
• Games for Health, such as games for psychological therapy, or games for cognitive training or physical rehabilitation uses.
• Art Games - games used to express artistic ideas or art produced through the medium of video games
• Militainment - games funded by the military or which otherwise replicate military operations with a high degree of accuracy.


Complex adaptive system
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Complex adaptive systems are special cases of complex systems. They are complex in that they are diverse and made up of multiple interconnected elements (and so a part of network science) and adaptive in that they have the capacity to change and learn from experience. The term complex adaptive systems (CAS) was coined at the interdisciplinary Santa Fe Institute (SFI), by John H. Holland, Murray Gell-Mann and others.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 Overview
o 1.1 Definitions
o 1.2 General properties
o 1.3 Properties
o 1.4 Management
• 2 Evolution of complexity
• 3 See also
• 4 References
• 5 Literature
• 6 External links

[edit] Overview


Complex Adaptive System
The term complex adaptive systems, or complexity science, is often used to describe the loosely organized academic field that has grown up around the study of such systems. Complexity science is not a single theory— it encompasses more than one theoretical framework and is highly interdisciplinary, seeking the answers to some fundamental questions about living, adaptable, changeable systems.
Examples of complex adaptive systems include the stock market, social insect and ant colonies, the biosphere and the ecosystem, the brain and the immune system, the cell and the developing embryo, manufacturing businesses and any human social group-based endeavour in a cultural and social system such as political parties or communities. There are close relationships between the field of CAS and artificial life. In both areas the principles of emergence and self-organization are very important.
The ideas and models of CAS are essentially evolutionary, grounded in modern biological views on adaptation and evolution. The theory of complex adaptive systems bridges developments of systems theory with the ideas of generalized Darwinism, which suggests that Darwinian principles of evolution can explain a range of complex material phenomena, from cosmic to social objects.
[edit] Definitions
A CAS is a complex, self-similar collection of interacting adaptive agents. The study of CAS focuses on complex, emergent and macroscopic properties of the system. Various definitions have been offered by different researchers:
• John H. Holland
A Complex Adaptive System (CAS) is a dynamic network of many agents (which may represent cells, species, individuals, firms, nations) acting in parallel, constantly acting and reacting to what the other agents are doing. The control of a CAS tends to be highly dispersed and decentralized. If there is to be any coherent behavior in the system, it has to arise from competition and cooperation among the agents themselves. The overall behavior of the system is the result of a huge number of decisions made every moment by many individual agents.[1]
A CAS behaves/evolves according to three key principles: order is emergent as opposed to predetermined (c.f. Neural Networks), the system's history is irreversible, and the system's future is often unpredictable. The basic building blocks of the CAS are agents. Agents scan their environment and develop schema representing interpretive and action rules. These schema are subject to change and evolution.[2]
• Other definitions
Macroscopic collections of simple (and typically nonlinearly) interacting units that are endowed with the ability to evolve and adapt to a changing environment.[3]
[edit] General properties
What distinguishes a CAS from a pure multi-agent system (MAS) is the focus on top-level properties and features like self-similarity, complexity, emergence and self-organization. A MAS is simply defined as a system composed of multiple, interacting agents. In CASs, the agents as well as the system are adaptive: the system is self-similar. A CAS is a complex, self-similar collectivity of interacting adaptive agents. Complex Adaptive Systems are characterised by a high degree of adaptive capacity, giving them resilience in the face of perturbation.
Other important properties are adaptation (or homeostasis), communication, cooperation, specialization, spatial and temporal organization, and of course reproduction. They can be found on all levels: cells specialize, adapt and reproduce themselves just like larger organisms do. Communication and cooperation take place on all levels, from the agent to the system level. The forces driving co-operation between agents in such a system can be analysed with game theory. Many of the issues of complexity science and new tools for the analysis of complexity are being developed within network science.
[edit] Properties
Complex adaptive systems have many properties[4] and the most important are:
• Emergence: Rather than being planned or controlled the agents in the system interact in apparently random ways. From all these interactions patterns emerge which informs the behaviour of the agents within the system and the behaviour of the system itself. For example a termite hill is a wondrous piece of architecture with a maze of interconnecting passages, large caverns, ventilation tunnels and much more. Yet there is no grand plan, the hill just emerges as a result of the termites following a few simple local rules.
• Co-evolution: All systems exist within their own environment and they are also part of that environment. Therefore, as their environment changes they need to change to ensure best fit. But because they are part of their environment, when they change, they change their environment, and as it has changed they need to change again, and so it goes on as a constant process. Some people draw a distinction between complex adaptive systems and complex evolving systems. Where the former continuously adapt to the changes around them but do not learn from the process. And where the latter learn and evolve from each change enabling them to influence their environment, better predict likely changes in the future, and prepare for them accordingly.
• Sub optimal: A complex adaptive systems does not have to be perfect in order for it to thrive within its environment. It only has to be slightly better than its competitors and any energy used on being better than that is wasted energy. A complex adaptive systems once it has reached the state of being good enough will trade off increased efficiency every time in favour of greater effectiveness.
• Requisite Variety: The greater the variety within the system the stronger it is. In fact ambiguity and paradox abound in complex adaptive systems which use contradictions to create new possibilities to co-evolve with their environment. Democracy is a good example in that its strength is derived from its tolerance and even insistence in a variety of political perspectives.
• Connectivity: The ways in which the agents in a system connect and relate to one another is critical to the survival of the system, because it is from these connections that the patterns are formed and the feedback disseminated. The relationships between the agents are generally more important than the agents themselves.
• Simple Rules: Complex adaptive systems are not complicated. The emerging patterns may have a rich variety, but like a kaleidoscope the rules governing the function of the system are quite simple. A classic example is that all the water systems in the world, all the streams, rivers, lakes, oceans, waterfalls etc with their infinite beauty, power and variety are governed by the simple principle that water finds its own level.
• Iteration: Small changes in the initial conditions of the system can have significant effects after they have passed through the emergence - feedback loop a few times (often referred to as the butterfly effect). A rolling snowball for example gains on each roll much more snow than it did on the previous roll and very soon a fist sized snowball becomes a giant one.
• Self Organising: There is no hierarchy of command and control in a complex adaptive system. There is no planning or managing, but there is a constant re-organising to find the best fit with the environment. A classic example is that if one were to take any western town and add up all the food in the shops and divide by the number of people in the town there will be near enough two weeks supply of food, but there is no food plan, food manager or any other formal controlling process. The system is continually self organising through the process of emergence and feedback.
• Edge of Chaos: Complexity theory is not the same as chaos theory, which is derived from mathematics. But chaos does have a place in complexity theory in that systems exist on a spectrum ranging from equilibrium to chaos. A system in equilibrium does not have the internal dynamics to enable it to respond to its environment and will slowly (or quickly) die. A system in chaos ceases to function as a system. The most productive state to be in is at the edge of chaos where there is maximum variety and creativity, leading to new possibilities.
• Nested Systems: Most systems are nested within other systems and many systems are systems of smaller systems. If we take the example in self organising above and consider a food shop. The shop is itself a system with its staff, customers, suppliers, and neighbours. It also belongs within the food system of that town and the larger food system of that country. It belongs to the retail system locally and nationally and the economy system locally and nationally, and probably many more. Therefore it is part of many different systems most of which are themselves part of other systems.
[edit] Management
When used in the management of people, CAS includes [1] setting appropriate containers, [2] understanding significant differences, and [3] facilitating transformation exchanges. In a CAS, managers set guidelines for workers to interpret, and use to self-organize.
[edit] Evolution of complexity


Passive versus active trends in the evolution of complexity. CAS at the beginning of the processes are colored red. Changes in the number of systems are shown by the height of the bars, with each set of graphs moving up in a time series.
Main article: Evolution of complexity
Living organisms are complex adaptive systems. Although complexity is hard to quantify in biology, evolution has produced some remarkably complex organisms.[5] This observation has led to the common misconception of evolution being progressive and leading towards what are viewed as "higher organisms".[6]
If this were generally true, evolution would possess an active trend towards complexity. As shown below, in this type of process the value of the most common amount of complexity would increase over time.[7] Indeed, some artificial life simulations have suggested that the generation of CAS is an inescapable feature of evolution.[8][9]
However, the idea of a general trend towards complexity in evolution can also be explained through a passive process.[7] This involves an increase in variance but the most common value, the mode, does not change. Thus, the maximum level of complexity increases over time, but only as an indirect product of there being more organisms in total. This type of random process is also called a bounded random walk.
In this hypothesis, the apparent trend towards more complex organisms is an illusion resulting from concentrating on the small number of large, very complex organisms that inhabit the right-hand tail of the complexity distribution and ignoring simpler and much more common organisms. This passive model emphasizes that the overwhelming majority of species are microscopic prokaryotes,[10] which comprise about half the world's biomass[11] and constitute the vast majority of Earth's biodiversity.[12] Therefore, simple life remains dominant on Earth, and complex life appears more diverse only because of sampling bias.
This lack of an overall trend towards complexity in biology does not preclude the existence of forces driving systems towards complexity in a subset of cases. These minor trends are balanced by other evolutionary pressures that drive systems towards less complex states.
[edit] See also
• Artificial life
• Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences
• Center for Social Dynamics & Complexity (CSDC) at Arizona State University
• Cognitive Science
• Command and Control Research Program
• Complex system
• Computational Sociology

Complex system
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This article largely discusses complex systems as a subject of mathematics and the attempts to emulate physical complex systems with emergent properties. For other scientific and professional disciplines addressing complexity in their fields see the complex systems article and references.
A complex system is a system composed of interconnected parts that as a whole exhibit one or more properties (behavior among the possible properties) not obvious from the properties of the individual parts.[citation needed] This characteristic of every system is called emergence and is true of any system, not just complex ones[citation needed].
A system’s complexity may be of one of two forms: disorganized complexity and organized complexity.[1] In essence, disorganized complexity is a matter of a very large number of parts, and organized complexity is a matter of the subject system (quite possibly with only a limited number of parts) exhibiting emergent properties.
Examples of complex systems that complexity models are developed for include ant colonies, human economies and social structures, climate, nervous systems, cells and living things, including human beings, as well as modern energy or telecommunication infrastructures. Indeed, many systems of interest to humans are complex systems.
Complex systems are studied by many areas of natural science, mathematics, and social science. Fields that specialize in the interdisciplinary study of complex systems include systems theory, complexity theory, systems ecology, and cybernetics.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 Overview
• 2 History
• 3 Types of complex systems
o 3.1 Chaotic systems
o 3.2 Complex adaptive systems
o 3.3 Nonlinear system
• 4 Topics on complex systems
o 4.1 Features of complex systems
• 5 See also
• 6 References
• 7 Further reading
• 8 External links

[edit] Overview
A complex system is a network of heterogeneous components that interact nonlinearly, to give rise to emergent behavior.[2] The term complex systems has multiple meanings depending on its scope:
• A specific kind of systems which are complex
• A field of science studying these systems; see further complex systems
• A paradigm that complex systems have to be studied with non-linear dynamics; see further complexity
Various informal descriptions of complex systems have been put forward, and these may give some insight into their properties. A special edition of Science about complex systems [3] highlighted several of these:
• A complex system is a highly structured system, which shows structure with variations (N. Goldenfeld and Kadanoff)
• A complex system is one whose evolution is very sensitive to initial conditions or to small perturbations, one in which the number of independent interacting components is large, or one in which there are multiple pathways by which the system can evolve (Whitesides and Ismagilov)
• A complex system is one that by design or function or both is difficult to understand and verify (Weng, Bhalla and Iyengar)
• A complex system is one in which there are multiple interactions between many different components (D. Rind)
• Complex systems are systems in process that constantly evolve and unfold over time (W. Brian Arthur).
[edit] History
Although one can argue that humans have been studying complex systems for thousands of years, the modern scientific study of complex systems is relatively young when compared to conventional science areas with simple system assumption such as physics and chemistry. The history of the scientific study of these systems follows several different research trends.
In the area of mathematics, arguably the largest contribution to the study of complex systems was the discovery of chaos in deterministic systems, a feature of certain dynamical systems that is strongly related to nonlinearity.[4] The study of neural networks was also integral in advancing the mathematics needed to study complex systems.
The notion of self-organizing systems is tied up to work in nonequilibrium thermodynamics, including that pioneered by chemist and Nobel laureate Ilya Prigogine in his study of dissipative structures.
[edit] Types of complex systems
[edit] Chaotic systems
For a dynamical system to be classified as chaotic, it must have the following properties:[5]


Assign z to z2 minus the conjugate of z, plus the original value of the pixel for each pixel, then count how many cycles it took when the absolute value of z exceeds two; inversion (borders are inner set), so that you can see that it threatens to fail that third condition, even if it meets condition two.
1. it must be sensitive to initial conditions,
2. it must be topologically mixing, and
3. its periodic orbits must be dense.
Sensitivity to initial conditions means that each point in such a system is arbitrarily closely approximated by other points with significantly different future trajectories. Thus, an arbitrarily small perturbation of the current trajectory may lead to significantly different future behavior.
[edit] Complex adaptive systems
Complex adaptive systems (CAS) are special cases of complex systems. They are complex in that they are diverse and made up of multiple interconnected elements and adaptive in that they have the capacity to change and learn from experience. Examples of complex adaptive systems include the stock market, social insect and ant colonies, the biosphere and the ecosystem, the brain and the immune system, the cell and the developing embryo, manufacturing businesses and any human social group-based endeavor in a cultural and social system such as political parties or communities. This includes some large-scale online systems, such as collaborative tagging or social bookmarking systems.
[edit] Nonlinear system
The behavior of nonlinear systems is not subject to the principle of superposition while that of Linear systems is subject to superposition. Thus, a nonlinear system is one whose behavior can't be expressed as a sum of the behaviors of its parts (or of their multiples).
[edit] Topics on complex systems
[edit] Features of complex systems
Complex systems may have the following features:
Difficult to determine boundaries
It can be difficult to determine the boundaries of a complex system[citation needed]. The decision is ultimately made by the observer.
Complex systems may be open
Complex systems are usually open systems — that is, they exist in a thermodynamic gradient and dissipate energy. In other words, complex systems are frequently far from energetic equilibrium: but despite this flux, there may be pattern stability, see synergetics.
Complex systems may have a memory
The history of a complex system may be important. Because complex systems are dynamical systems they change over time, and prior states may have an influence on present states. More formally, complex systems often exhibit hysteresis.
Complex systems may be nested
The components of a complex system may themselves be complex systems. For example, an economy is made up of organisations, which are made up of people, which are made up of cells - all of which are complex systems.
Dynamic network of multiplicity
As well as coupling rules, the dynamic network of a complex system is important. Small-world or scale-free networks which have many local interactions and a smaller number of inter-area connections are often employed. Natural complex systems often exhibit such topologies. In the human cortex for example, we see dense local connectivity and a few very long axon projections between regions inside the cortex and to other brain regions.
May produce emergent phenomena
Complex systems may exhibit behaviors that are emergent, which is to say that while the results may be deterministic, they may have properties that can only be studied at a higher level. For example, the termites in a mound have physiology, biochemistry and biological development that are at one level of analysis, but their social behavior and mound building is a property that emerges from the collection of termites and needs to be analysed at a different level.
Relationships are non-linear
In practical terms, this means a small perturbation may cause a large effect (see butterfly effect), a proportional effect, or even no effect at all. In linear systems, effect is always directly proportional to cause. See nonlinearity.
Relationships contain feedback loops
Both negative (damping) and positive (amplifying) feedback are often found in complex systems. The effects of an element's behaviour are fed back to in such a way that the element itself is altered.

System (from Latin systēma, in turn from Greek σύστημα systēma) is a set of interacting or interdependent entities forming an integrated whole.
The concept of an 'integrated whole' can also be stated in terms of a system embodying a set of relationships which are differentiated from relationships of the set to other elements, and from relationships between an element of the set and elements not a part of the relational regime.
The scientific research field which is engaged in the study of the general properties of systems include systems theory, cybernetics, dynamical systems and complex systems. They investigate the abstract properties of the matter and organization, searching concepts and principles which are independent of the specific domain, substance, type, or temporal scales of existence.
Most systems share common characteristics, including:
• Systems have structure, defined by parts and their composition;
• Systems have behavior, which involves inputs, processing and outputs of material, energy or information;
• Systems have interconnectivity: the various parts of a system have functional as well as structural relationships between each other.
• Systems have by themselves functions or groups of functions
The term system may also refer to a set of rules that governs behavior or structure.